Forbidden
by ChocolatePrime
Summary: There was never a Cybertron - Their home planet is Earth. Jazz is a Decepticon, and Prowl an Autobot. However, both hold secrets about their identity and both are unclear of their births. When Jazz and Prowl meet for the first time, there seems to be something about that other 'bot.. Something intriguing indeed. Rated T. Jazz x Prowl. I own nothing except the plot.
1. Chapter 1

Growling, I made my way through the forest in our territory. Duck through this brush here, swing over this branch there. Resting on a log and raising my head, I tilted it back and to the side, allowing for my audio horns to pick up any vibrations around me, whilst breathing in a deep vent, taking in any scents in the air. Small life forms scurrying around, and the scent of dew being fried by the sunlight. No unwanted pests. _Good – just the way I like it_, I thought, smirking. My visor dimming, I crept further past the edge of Decepticon territory, scouting ahead for anything valuable to our oh so grand cause. Now, there was no definite borders along the territories, just common sense, where patrols dug a path along the edges, and rough markers and lines on maps.

After a while of sneaking around in the shadows of the fauna, I hit a field with nothing interesting save the bright sunlight, glimmering down warmly. Throwing caution out the proverbial window, I grinned, relaxing and spinning out into the light. I raised my arms above me, stretching. The Decepticon base was dark and dreary – sunlight was always welcome in my opinion. Sighing, I scanned the area, taking in the details of the ring of trees, grass, and scattered rocks. _Hmmm, interesting. Where there's rock, there's either cliffs, or caves. _Lowering myself, I walked forward more silently, observing the grassy hill just across the clearing.

Just as I reached the foot of it, however, an unfamiliar scent hit my olfactory sensors, shooting warning throughout my body, and before I knew it I was stalking forward, close to the ground. My claws shot out, and I unconsciously bared my fangs just as I reached the top. Glancing around rewarded me with the image of a slight grassy ledge, before dropping down into a small ravine. The other side was maybe two meters away – enough to tumble down, hard to jump, easy to scale. Hugging the ground, I raised my face to take in that scent again – fresh, odd and yet… welcoming. Shaking my head to rid the thought, I followed the direction of where the scent was strongest to my right.

_It seems to be coming out of the line of trees. _Growling, I stalked forward a meter away from the cleft, into the forest. I barely made it through, before the scent was stronger and I picked up the sound of someone approaching – fast. I dropped down low, and soon enough I saw a stranger rush into my line of sight, ducking in between a tree and a bush. _Terrible hiding spot, _I thought, irritated, as I ran my optics down the strangers body, taking in details. He was not much taller than me, white and black, with big… were those _wings_ behind him..? His optics were ice blue, darting around while intaking heavily, fans whirring. The sound of those engines for some unknown reason made mine purr softly. Annoyed with myself, I looked for a symbol on either his chest or shoulders. My search was interrupted as I heard another thing coming – larger, and grunting. The smell of organic hit me, just as I saw a large, brown bear lumbering into the sparser area of trees, resting a foot away from the Unknown Bot's location.

Frozen, he listened with surprising calm as the bear, panting, and grunting, raised its head and sniffed. Cringing, I immediately knew this 'bot was toast, once it caught on to his scent. He didn't appear anywhere near equipped for battle, yet alone strong enough to take on a mighty beast. He seemed to register that too, as for when the bear strode behind his hiding place sniffing, he burst out of his hiding place. He ran right past me, the oblivious fool, as the bear roared and followed pursuit. It was only when it was near me when it hit me – the bot was running in the direction of the ravine. Cursing, I made up my mind and drew out my dagger, shooting it out and slicing the tendons in the bear's front paw as it tumbled past. Roaring in pain, it limped around just to face said dagger flying through the air, before hitting its mark deep into the bear's eye socket. It didn't even have time to react, and its heavy body thumped down on the ground.

Sighing in agitation, I stalked by it, taking a second to retrieve my dagger out of its cooling corpse before stowing it into a subspace. Just then I heard a shout, and I shot forward to see the winged mech twist around in an attempt to reach solid ground. Without thinking, I leapt forward, reaching out and clasping the idiot's servo. His swinging body hit the side of the rock face, and he intaked sharply before looking up to see what had saved him. My vents stuttered, as I took in the sight before me. He had a handsome face up close, and his cold, calculating optics were side in surprise, as his wings – soft, gorgeous wings – fluttered a little in his distress. Catching my breath, so to speak, I snapped out of it, and pulled him up and over the edge. Panting softly, he stood up as I did, dusting dirt off his arms. My gaze was locked onto that of his face, cast downward as he avoided eye contact. After stalling for a few klicks, he glanced up at me. He seemed to be taking in my appearance, and before either of us could say anything, my sharp hearing picked up a few people stomping through the undergrowth, barely meters from our position.

Reacting to instinct, I immediately fled to the safety of the fauna, slipping into shadow. I climbed a tree, just as I heard the mechs – three of them, to be exact – slow down nearby. They stopped once they spotted the beautiful mech, and obviously seemed to know him, as their postures drooped in relief. He flicked his wings into a rigid 'V', and nodded at them, calmly. "Ironhide, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker," he greeted. The golden one hissed softly, as the big black one spoke up. "Prowl, are you nuts!?" The beautiful mech – Prowl, it seemed – dipped his head slightly to the left, as if curious. The red one, identical to the gold one – _twins, _I thought – threw his hands up in frustration. "You had us worried, Prowl! One moment we were on patrol, and the next there was a roar and you were gone, running. We thought a 'Con grabbed you!" Prowl frowned.

"I seemed to have annoyed a bear-" at this, the others tensed more. "-but I believe to have lost it," he finished, ever calm, voice ever soft, and lulling… I shook my head to get that thought out of my head, missing what the black one said. _Damn Jazz, what's with ya today? _I scolded myself, growling imperceptibly. "…You _know _your fath- err, Prime's not gonna be happy about this, right?" stressed the black one. That had my attention snapping to what he'd just said. _Obviously a slip_, I analyzed. _Fath-? As in, father? And Prime… oohhhh. _My optics snapping wide in realization under my blood red visor, I realized just _who _it was I'd just saved. My breath caught as Prowl made a comment about how he would talk to him, as the others were herding him away from the cleft. _Damn, why does this beauty have to be an Autobot,_ I growled. _And the son of the accursed _Prime,_ too. _

Sighing, I noticed Prowl glance towards the bear's corpse, and stiffened slightly at the sight. The carried on as if nothing had happened, however the others all seemed to be set on lecturing him. Well, most, as the golden one simply complained about the new scratches on his paint. Shaking my head, I picked up a transmission. Waiting a few seconds before the others were out of earshot – my earshot – I answered.

"Jazz 'ere."

"Jazz: Return to base. Megatron: orders your return," came the immediate response. I smiled slightly, only for it to falter at the name of our Lord. Soundwave was the only mech that I could call a friend – well, as much as one could whilst being a 'Con. Sighing, I answered him.

"'Course. Ah'll be back in about 15."

"Noted," was the only response I got as he ended the conversation. Glancing one last time wistfully in the direction of the beautiful Autobot, I turned to head back to base.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **

**I'm finding it difficult to write Prowl. I kept wanting to write it in second person X)**

**If anyone's reading this, I just wanted to say thank you, and please review! **

**Enjoy :)**

I put down yet another datapad on the 'finished' pile, before sighing and rubbing my face. It had been about a day since yesterday afternoon, and the mystery mech who had helped me. _I never did get a name,_ I thought, before shaking my head. Scolding myself, I tried yet again to divert all focus onto the datapad on front of me. Something about how Mirage scared someone by popping out of camouflage mode – something Cliffjumper believed was done on purpose. As I was half-way through reading, a certain silver, red-visored mech popped into my mind's eye…

My hand clenching around the datapad, I set it down and put my face in my hands, sighing once more. As I've done for the last 38 times my mind had come back to this thought. It had plagued me, ever since that moment I fell, and someone's hand was there. Ever since I looked up and saw… Him. Groaning, I finally let my processor analyze the facts – anything to help my aching head.

For starters; he had a red visor. He was a Decepticon.

Second; He saved my life. That was illogical of him. Decepticons do not help Autobots. Next point.

He killed the bear chasing me, and managed to be there in time to catch me. He is ruthless, cunning, swift, and deadly. Must have had extensive training. High probability that he is older than I.

He killed the bear without hesitation, and yet, he saved me. Twice, if you included killing the animal chasing me and catching me so that I did not fall as separate events. Illogical. He is a Decepticon.

_And back to square one, _I groaned internally. That was, I believed vehemently, why I kept thinking about this. And why my battle computer was close to crashing. Not because the mech was attractive… _No! _I chastised. _It is illogical. Why would a Decepticon help an Autobot..? _As I mulled this over, my battle computer worsened its aching. Sighing, I thought it best not to think about it so much. However, as I plowed my way through my work, no matter how many times I shoved any and all thoughts about the day prior, it still kept bothering me. Sighing for the 39th time, I leaned back in my desk chair, just to the point of my doorwings becoming uncomfortable, and rubbed my face.

That was how Optimus Prime – my father – saw me as he came in my office to 'check-up' on me. He raised an eyebrow at me curiously, as it was not often I sat back in my chair, rubbing my face in frustration.

"May I ask what is bothering you this fine day?" he inquired, setting down a single datapad. I sighed, for the fortieth time, before thinking of an excuse – which I was not good at, as I strived to tell the truth at all times – for surely I could not tell him, the leader of the Autobots, that I was saved by a Decepticon. _Now I am thinking illogical, he is my father, he will understand. Not to mention that conduct states that-_

"Prowl?"

"..Yes?" I internally face palmed. It was instinct to reply to someone saying my name – I was turned to as head of tactical to deal with most of the problems on base, after all. He simply gave me a knowing look, before sitting down and staring at me expectantly. Sighing, I decided it was for the best to just tell him, before he shipped me over to the resident psychologist, Smokescreen.

"It's about yesterday," I started lamely. He blinked at me, before gesturing for me to continue as I had stopped. Sighing once more, I leaned forward. "I was chased by a bear that I had unwillingly angered as of 3:26pm yesterday on patrol," I stopped. He was holding up a hand, and wanted to speak.

"Please, Prowl. This is not a report – I am simply asking out of concern, from father to son. You need not be so formal," he asked softly. I frowned, as I did not like to open up, as my whole attitude was solely professional – one of the main reasons why I excelled at head tactician. _Perhaps I just get it from my father_, I reasoned with myself. Inhaling slowly, I restarted. "As you know, I was being chased by a bear. And I… must admit that I was not truthful to Ironhide and the Twins," I confessed. This had him quirking an eyebrow in interest. It was not like me to lie. "I did not lose the bear. It was murdered." This had him raising that famous eyebrow of his even more, while his face remained the same. _The two of us do in fact share a great 'poker face', as Smokescreen and the Twins love to call it. _"If it wasn't for its death, it would've attacked and there was a high probability of it killing me. The next thing I knew, I was over the side of a concealed ravine," I murmured. Pausing, I thought how to explain the Mystery Decepticon.

"Go on," he encouraged, voice light and understanding. The only emotion on his face was concern – ravines are deep, after all.

"I felt a hand on my arm, and I looked up to see a Decepticon helping me," I shot out, getting to the point. I looked Optimus dead in the optics, to see what he was thinking. Clearly, a lot, as both of his eyebrows had risen and he slowly sat back, surprise in his optics. "It is illogical," I continued, frustrated. "Decepticons are our enemy, and will stop at nothing to destroy us. Why would he help me?"

Sighing, he looked to the left, gaze adrift. "They are not all purely evil, Prowl." He turned to look at me. "All living beings have the potential to be great. Just as all living things have the potential to be evil," he reasoned, his chest puffing slightly, and his gaze calming me. He eyed me warily, watching to see how I would take this. Breaking eye contact, I mulled over what he had just said. _All Decepticons I have met would've killed me on sight. Why not this one? _

"Perhaps he noticed that I do not bear any Autobot insignia," I suggested, meeting his optics once more. He sighed softly, and shifted his weight in his chair. It did seem rather small for someone of his size.

"Perhaps. And yet, perhaps not," he rumbled. I tilted my head slightly in confusion, asking for him with my body language to explain. Having raised me, he understood. "That is for you and you alone to figure out, Prowl." My wings twitching in irritation, I pondered this. In order to save my battle computer from glitching, I decided to go with the thought that he had not seen anything linking me to the Autobots. And yet…

"I did not see any insignia on him. I simply assumed he was a Decepticon by his red visor," I said, tossing the fact out into the open. Optimus nodded, optics clouded, thinking deeply.

"May I ask what he looked like?" he inquired. _Handsome, sleek, attractive, _my thoughts supplied before I could contain myself. I cleared my throat, which gained his attention.

"He was silver, with a red visor and prominent audio horns. He was approximately an inch shorter than I, and his frame type suggests he is built for speed and stealth instead of strength," I stated, grasping for pure fact and ignoring my seemingly out of whack emotional core. _I should get that checked somehow, without getting the ever-perceptive Ratchet on my case._

Frowning, Optimus nodded. "I will look him up on our computer files," he started, raising a hand to stop any protests from me. "No one else will know about this. I trust that you will inform me if this Decepticon attempts anything else?"

Sighing for a final time in his presence, I nodded. "Yes, Optimus." He studied me for a moment more, before nodding his head and exiting my office. Taking a deep breath, I looked towards my stack of datapads to do, and continued on with my work.

**- / -**

Grunting, I rolled my stiff and sore joints as I sat up out of berth, holding back a grimace while flexing the wounds inflicted on me yesterday. Megatron was not in a nice mood, and the day before he had decided to _test _my strength. Again.

Sighing, I stood up, and stretched out my aching legs that were pushed hard to avoid the surprisingly fast bulk that was the Decepticon leader. It always seemed to be just that, that the Decepticon leader was concerned with – strength. For a Decepticon to be a Decepticon, he must be strong and endure all pain. Anything else was considered weak, and bots who were weak were either terminated, or lower-ranked. The lower your rank, the more likely you were to offline by means of someone killing you, stealing your belongings or using your parts for parts they lacked. The only real benefit to this was that the whole Decepticon army was hardened, and made a formidable force in battle.

Deeming myself fit for the day, I briefly checked over my wounds to ensure that they weren't infected, and headed out into the chaos that was the Decepticon base. Sounds of shouting, snarling, and screeching was the first thing to greet me, and narrowing my gaze in the dim light, I went to search for Soundwave and report for duty. It didn't take me long, as he was either in his office or at the main computer, and his office was close to my closet-like quarters. Knocking, and hearing approval, I entered. I stopped short of plopping into the chair on front of his desk, as it was my daily routine, as the ugly sight of Starscream filled my vision instead.

Puffing out my armour in agitation, I growled lightly in his direction as he swivelled from where he stood to face me, a sneer already set in place.

"Jazz," he sneered.

"Starscream," I growled in response.

"Enough," ordered the ever mono-tone Soundwave, still sitting in his desk. He immediately stood, and faced me. "Orders; Search quadrant 12B for energon traces. Mission: Find energy source," he explained.

Starscream huffed. "And Megatron's sending his second-in-command to do _this_? Isn't something as mundane as this left for, oh, I don't know, 'cons like little dagger over here," He added dryly in my direction. Not particularly liking him degrading me, I growled in his direction again.

"Affirmative. Location: Deep in uncharted territory, closer to Autobots. High risk of Autobot encounter." He looked back in my direction. "Jazz: maintain perimeter of operation." He looked back at Starscream, who seemed quite smug with himself. "Starscream; over-look soldiers searching and drilling." The smug smirk vanished off of his faceplates when he heard this.

"A sparkling-sitter!? I, Starscream, a Sparkling-sitter? I don't think so," he screeched, seeker wings exaggerating his anger. Before he could rant even more at an undeserving Soundwave and waste time, I puffed my chest and faced the arrogant fool.

"So what? Does that mean ya wanna take that up with our Lord?" he swivelled in my direction again, glowering. Crossing my arms, I stood my ground. "It _is_ his orders, yes?" I asked Soundwave.

"Affirmative."

I stared down an angry Starscream, before he gave in. He was known for Megatron knocking him around, after all. Confronting him about something as ridiculous as this would have at least one limb ripped off.

"Fine," He sneered. He stormed towards the door, shoving me with his shoulder out of his way. "But don't you get in my way, or mess this up, for then otherwise," he spat, talking over his wing in the entrance of the door, "Otherwise, it'll be _your _head." With this, he spun on his heel and fumed down the hallway. I caught a glimpse of the other Decepticons clearing a path for him before the door swooshed shut.

Sighing, I relaxed, muttering under my breath at what a pain-in-the-aft the SIC was, and plopped down into Soundwave's office chair. He vented, not quite a sigh, and sat back down to continue with his work. After a few moments of silence, when I had calmed myself enough, I spoke up.

"So when ah'm I s'posed to leave?" Pausing in his work, Soundwave looked up at me.

"Two point-four hours. Noon," he stated calmly, before continuing once more with his work. I hummed softly to myself. That left an hour to prep, 25 minutes to fuel, and another hour to myself. As I was thinking out the details of the objective, Soundwave silently slid a Datapad in my direction. Taking it, and glancing at his face – already turned and continuing his work – I onlined it and skimmed the contents. It was a map of the general location of where we were supposed to search, and details on energon levels, possible Autobot locations, and anything else I could think of about the plan. Pursing my lips, I silently sent over my gratitude in my thoughts, as there was no doubt he was reading my mind. Something like this was typically reserved for the officer in command of the mission, and in this case, it was Starscream, not me.

I spent the next 45 minutes absorbing and memorizing all that I could about the mission, before sliding it back to him. He took it and slid it into a pile without so much of a glance, and I got up and left to get ready. And as I neared the weapons bay, I couldn't help but wonder if there was going to be a certain, beautiful Autobot there…


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you all for your follow's and the review :) **

**I will not be posting for a bit seeing as I work tonight and possibly the weekend. Don't worry though, I'm excited about this and will have at least one other chapter up by the end of the week! Don't forget to tell me how I'm doing, all reviews are welcome. :P**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

I was sitting in my office when a ping hit my Commlink. It was from Optimus, requesting my presence in his own office. Frowning slightly, I set aside my datapad and rose to leave. On the way there, my battle computer kept throwing me different reasons why he would want me in his office, and the probability of that reason being true. Autobot soldiers either quieted and gave me a wide berth in the hallways, or they continued on their way with nod in my direction. The latter seemed to be the other officers and front liner's I associated with. The former must have been on the receiving end of some duty they did not like, or heard some of the falsely-generated rumors circulating around. I was aware of the rumors, as I was not a fool. The most common among those was that I was simply a drone, created to help Optimus win the war. Pushing that thought process out of my mind, I walked up to my father's office door and knocked.

"Come in," came his low and powerful voice. Entering, he set aside any of the datapads he himself was working on, and gestured for me to sit. Dipping my head in respect – he was my leader, after all – I sat down in the chair across from him, before setting my servo's idly on my knees.

"You requested my presence?" I asked. Nodding, he sat a little taller and took in a breath to ready himself.

"First of all, I would like to talk to you about the mysterious Decepticon that had helped you two days prior." He folded his hands neatly and professionally on his desk, studying my face for any signs of distress. Finding none, he continued. "As you know, I began a search for him on our computer files. I am afraid to report that he has not shown up in even the slightest detail." Frowning, I thought about this. Such an event was rare, as there had not been many recruits – if any – and no births since the war, and thus there was a file for any surviving Decepticons and Autobots that had started the war.

"Not even a witness encounter, such as mine?" I prodded. I was hoping to get more information, even if this mystery Decepticon was a ghost. My hopes went unanswered, as Optimus himself frowned and shook his head.

"I am afraid to say that not only is this Decepticon a ghost, there is no mention of him anywhere in our files. This must mean that the Decepticons had meant for him to remain hidden – you said yourself his frame type was more suited for speed and stealth. I would advise that should you ever meet him again," he warned, grave importance dripping in his voice, "that you stay clear of him. Understood?"

Frowning, I nodded. His words hung true, as he had vanished almost instantly from my vision and hearing only seconds before the others had shown up. Sighing, Optimus changed the topic.

"That being said. There have been reports of Decepticon activity close to our borders, and as you are remarkable for quick decision making on the spot," he informed, chest puffing slightly with pride, "I would like for you to take four others in scouting the area to see what they are up to. May I add the importance of scouting, as you are not to engage the enemy," he stressed, handing my eager servos a datapad. "This datapad hold any details that you will need. You are to leave as soon as possible," he added. He was scanning my face once more, though the only reason why he would do that was his fatherly concern for me. There was, after all, an invisible Decepticon that had helped me earlier.

"I will alert the others most suitable for this task. We will depart in half an hour," I assured him with my voice strong. I would be fine. Standing to go, I waited for his dismissal with my wings held high above my back. Sighing, he nodded.

"You are dismissed."

**- / -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

Muttering imperceptibly about the unfortunate circumstances, I swept alongside Starscream's party hidden in the shadows. It was nearing dark, and we've yet to find anything promising. Ironically enough, one of the scouts reported back in that moment, informing Starscream of a rock face to the west that had promising energon readings. Huffing, an agitated Starscream beckoned for my presence, knowing that I would have optics on him. Huffing my own irritated huff, I slipped out of the shadows to his side, making a few others jump in surprise that had me smirking.

"Yes..?" I purred, riling up an easily angered Starscream. Growling in my direction, he gestured at the scout.

"We will be following him and setting up camp there for the night." Optics narrowing, he thrust a finger towards my chassis. "I of course _trust _that you will be keeping watch?" My smirk grew, whilst I growled under my breath. The _nerve._

"Of course, _Commander," _I replied with false enthusiasm. Giving him no time to question my tone, I spun on my heel and leapt into darkness with ease, leaving him seething. I watched from above as the party followed the direction of the scout, softly murmuring about the exchange between the two of us so that Starscream wouldn't hear. Laughing under my breath, I spun out into the nearing twilight, some-what free. I loved the feeling of the air on my plates, the warmth of the setting sun.

Dancing in-between the trees, I scouted a lazy circle around where the others would be settling down. I barely even stirred a leaf, humming imperceptibly to myself. And my un-focused couldn't help but wonder back onto thinking about the beautiful Autobot. Halting mid-spin, I crouched lower. It was a ways out of both territories that I had managed to find him, after all. I tilted my head back, searching with my senses to see if I could pick up anything leading to him. Frowning when I only picked up the local wildlife, I continued my search for him while doing my circle-around.

Sighing to myself when, a while later, the sun set, I couldn't find him, so I sat down unceremoniously on a log. _A pity, _I thought. _He was… the most exciting thing that had happened lately. _I did my best to steer clear on calling him 'beauty'. He is, after all, the son of the Prime. _Prime..., _I growled lightly to myself. Megatron and the others had taught me that he was the reason why the war had started. Why I had to train…

Shaking my thoughts away, I decided to indeed keep a 'watch' over the others, and scanned the trees for the tallest in the area. Finding one with promise, I scaled it with practised ease. Venting to clear the warm air, I intaked the sweet, cool, fresh air. Relaxing a bit, I settled down on an uppermost branch, facing away from camp. I was calm, and loose, and hummed softly. I never did know why I did hum. It simply seemed to calm me. I watched the birds fly to nests and branches, settling down for the night. It was only when a robin had swooped low and darted back upwards that I found my attention on company. A whiles away, and give-or-take 20 minutes worth of walking distance from Decepticon camp. They were cleverly sheltered by a glove of trees, colorfully painted, and had glowing blue optics once magnified with my visor.

_Yup. Definitely Autobots,_ I thought to myself, and sat up into a crouch. I was about to comm. Starscream when my sight fell on a set of wings, just outside the grove. Pausing, I decided it would be worth it to just take a little peek. The air swooshing past my armor, I leapt from tree to tree in silence, and soon enough I was close enough to their location to see detail. Pursing my lips, I scanned the area to see if my Prowl- err, the Autobot, was nearby. After a few moments of nothing, I saw the mech I was looking for come through some bush, and made his way past. _Target spotted, _I grinned to myself, and followed him without sound.

He came to a stream bed nearby, filled with water and fresh from the far-away hills. He paused beside it, scanning the area and flicking his wings to see if anyone was around. I smirked when he deemed it safe a few moments later, and pulled out a few canteens from his sub-space. _Can't sense me, mech,_ I chuckled under my breath and watched him bend down to fill them with water. Without thinking, I slid down as silent as death out of the shadows, my gaze never leaving the sight of him. Smoothly, I climbed and lounged on a nearby boulder beside the gently gurgling stream.

My training must've paid off, for he continued drawing water without a hitch. His wings dipped slightly, balancing him as he leaned forward over the stream's bank, catching my eye. His wings always seemed to be graceful, ever fluttering with the wind or emotion. _Perhaps that is his fault in his control of his ever-cool, cleverly hidden emotion he showed on his face the other day_, I mused. Raking my gaze over his body, I took note of where the seams in his armor was, and any other possible weak/sensitive spots. Part of this was due to his training, the other, due to interest. The base of his wings had many wires, and little if any armor - to provide the wings with flexibility. _It must be sensitive there,_ I smirked to myself.

He had just finished and turned around only to find me smirking up at him.

**- / -**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

I nearly fell out of my armor when I spotted him. Instead, my whole body froze, along with my processor. I crouched like that for what seemed like an eternity, when my chronometer told me that it had only be a few seconds. Thawing out of its freeze, my processor then starting firing strongly, giving off a dull ache. The handsome Decepticon simply smirked more, obviously pleased with my reaction. He was lounging, relaxed, on his side on a rock. I allowed for my optics to roam over him, now that I had the ability to do so. Ignoring the purr that came from the Decepticon, I studied the sharp claws, the silver armor, avoiding his face. His arms and legs seemed strong, but still more suited for speed and stealth. Interestingly enough, I found many wounds on his shoulders and arms, old scars and new scabs, uninfected yet not treated. I also did not find any weapons – that were visible, anyway.

Ignoring Optimus' warning replaying in the back of my head, I stood up to my full height and met his surprisingly piercing gaze. _As piercing as one can get with a visor, _I thought grimly. His blood red visor lit up more, and he jumped up onto his feet with grace that I have not seen before. Warily keeping eye contact, I stepped aside a few steps, doing my best to keep my face devoid of any emotion.

"Well? Aint'cha gonna say something?" he purred, stalking up closer to me until he was within arm's reach. Narrowing my optics at him, I stepped back a few more steps.

"Who are you?" I demanded. Shaking his head, breaking the eye contact, he chuckled to himself.

"Is that any way ta talk ta th' mech that saved ya?" he replied, smug smirk appearing on those handsome faceplates. Frowning at the illogical being that was this Decepticon, I decided to play the 'polite game' that he was toying with.

"Then perhaps I might know your name, to know exactly who saved me," I tried, grasping at anything. I was curious to know more about this 'ghost', especially seeing as his image had a hard time leaving my mind. That earned me a smile, a small one but genuine. Odd, for if Decepticons did not attack first, they deceived – hence, their name.

"Ah think ya know exactly who saved ya," he replied, smiling a little more. "But," he added, lowering his head and crossing his arms, "Ah'll tell ya. Mah name's Jazz." Jazz. So, that was his name… if he was telling the truth, that is. _Something in my tank tells me he isn't lying, _I thought, earning slight protest from my battle computer.

"Doesn't seem very fitting, for a Decepticon, that is." I shot back dryly. Tilting his head in curiosity, he dropped his arms and again entered arm's reach. This time I didn't move.

"Why ain't it? Soundwave ain't very savage, and yet I know ya all are scared of him," he growled lightly. Despite this, he seemed curious – just as I was, seeing as he knew what savagery meant. Tilting my head in his direction, I decided to risk enlightening him.

"Soundwave fits him, as he is a Communication's Officer. Jazz is a music genre, and from I have heard, Decepticons dislike music and perhaps have even banned it." This earned an honest, curious gaze from him. He hesitated a few seconds, thinking, before replying.

"Well, Ah don't know what that is, so Ah suppose it's true, then." That puzzled me. Everyone within reach of a radio knew what music was. _And I'm supposed to be the uncultured one, _I thought amused. Changing the topic, as the other bot seemed uncomfortable, he gestured towards me with a smirk.

"And what's your name, pretty?" At the nickname, I stalled. _What did he just say about me…!? _Before snapping my mind out of it.

"My name is Prowl," I answered, and after a brief moment's consideration, I held out my hand. His smirk grew into a grin, and he took my hand and shook it. The metal was surprisingly rough, yet, smooth. After my hand being shaken for longer than I would have liked, I pulled my hand away and cleared my throat. This earned an interested glance from Jazz. Raising my head a little, I addressed the issue that was bothering my battle computer.

"The other day, when you saved me," I began, watching him warily. His expression didn't change, and instead I head to continue speaking to get my mind off the fact that he could be bearing holes into my processor with that gaze. "Why did you do it?" After studying me with that intense focus, he chuckled under his breath and shrugged carelessly.

"Cause ah wanted ta." Blinking, the last thought I had on my mind was how he suddenly looked concerned - _He can't he's a Decepticon –_ before there was a flash of intense pain coming from my battle computer, and darkness consumed my consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: **

**I don't know if it's considered 'advertising', but go see the Imitation Game! I saw it twice and the main guy reminds me of Prowl. Y'know, that lovable, socially awkward guy who's also a math genius. It was really good :P I also went on YouTube to see how someone talked and got distracted by a bunch of funny videos. Whoops.**

**Anyway, Thanks so much for the reviews guys! I'll do my best to keep it coming. ^_^ Enjoy!**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

Groaning internally, I came online. My hearing and sense of smell were the first to boot up, and I smelt disinfectant and heard medical machines beeping and whirring. _So, I'm in the medbay_, I thought groggily. Onlining my optics, I came face-to-face with a certain Chief Medical Officer.

"Welcome to the world of the functioning," he greeted dryly. I groaned softly, before closing my optics. I must have had another crash. It took me a moment, but once I realized what had happened before I crashed, I started to panic. Optics flying open to Ratchet's retreating back, I struggled to get up and take a look myself. Was I injured? How did I return to base? I was stopped by a strong hand gently shoving me back down. Ratchet was ever-perceptive, as always. "You're alright, Prowl. You're not injured, all you did was crash." Furrowing my brows together, I processed this in confusion. That would've meant that the Decep-Jazz, I corrected myself- must not have taken advantage of the situation and had not attacked or killed me.

"...What happened..?" I ground out, my vocalizer rough. Ratchet gave me a perplexed look.

"You tell me. The others told us that one moment you went to fetch some water for the energon, and the next they heard a loud thump and you were fried like an ant under a magnifying glass," he explained. "...The saying was from Hound, naturally." Frowning, I stored that information to process another time and instead focused on something else.

"Did all of the others return with me, or are there some still on the mission?" Muttering under his breath at what a workaholic I was, he went to one of the machines monitoring me.

"You're more important than a few traces of Decepticon activity, Prowl. Of course they all returned with you." Thinking, I nodded. There was some Decepticon activity in the area, and I came face to face with one. Perhaps he knew about my glitch and used it against me to get rid of possible Autobot interference. Shaking my head slightly, I decided against it. There was a very low probability of that happening, as only a few Autobots knew of my glitch. My thoughts skipped over the conversation again, before catching onto something Ratchet had mentioned.

"...us?" This caused Ratchet to stop what he was doing and turn around to face me, giving me a look that seemed to mean, 'Why yes, you idiot.'

"Yes. Us. You don't think Optimus would let something like this slip by him, would you?" _Of course not,_ I thought to myself tiredly. Shaking my head to show him I understood, he continued to talk. "He also stated that he was worried about your mental health. And, seeing as you glitched for no apparent reason-" he cut off, shooting me a pointed glare "-he came to me asking for an extended medical leave." _No! I have work to do..!_

"But I-" Cutting off any possible protests I had by tossing up a wrench, he explained. Sort of.

"He told me to tell you that 'you would know the reason for this'. He seemed worried, Prowl. He didn't even tell me what it was all about, the stubborn mech," he grumbled the last part. All I knew was that even before the war started Ratchet and my father were close friends. He left me to go to his office, shouting a warning over his shoulder about me even _thinking _about leaving.

Sighing, I turned onto my side to get off of my wings. _Just the same old Ratchet,_ I thought to myself with slight irritation, and slight fondness. When Optimus was busy doing whatever it was a leader of an army did, Ratchet always seemed to be on 'bot-sitting duty', as he loved to call it. All it was, was me sitting in his Medbay while he did his work and kept a proverbial optic on me. He still bugs me about it to this day. Everyone else on base – especially the twins – say that he installed another, hidden optic in the back of his head because of this, just to keep an eye on the 'idiots' of the base. Which, to Ratchet, seemed to be everyone at some point. It was of course false, the only thing that he really had was a keen sense of seeing and hearing.

Grumbling to myself about having no work and no choice but to do so, I slipped back into recharge.

**- / -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I hummed lightly to myself, drumming my fingers across the edge of Soundwave's desk. We had just came back from the mission a half an hour ago, and as I was not the leading officer of this mission, I had to wait as Starscream filled in to our _glorious_ leader. It was in the middle of the Afternoon, and the drillers had dug fast this morning to find promising results. The tunnel's bottom had opened to a natural cave, with a small stream running through which in ancient times must've been a grand under-ground river. The cave was loaded with rich energon deposits which would last us about a decade. So far so good, and as far as I knew it Starscream had no idea about the temporary Autobot party.

Which brought my thoughts around in full circle. Thankful that Soundwave wouldn't be listening in as long as he was working, I returned to the main thing that was pestering me. Prowl had fainted. Or… something. _Whatever it was, it sure as pit didn't look natural. _No, one moment I answered his question, and the next his optics had spaced out, and a muffled sizzle had followed suit. The bot just went limp and unconscious on the spot. _It creeped me out, is what it did, _I convinced myself. For as soon as I saw it, a feeling I haven't felt before had seized me around my spark casing, and it was all I could do to catch him before the damn weirdo fell into the stream.

_A drop-dead gorgeous weirdo, _my thoughts inserted dreamily before I could stop them. Choking back on that slightly, I gave Soundwave a peek. He was currently signing off on a datapad, before turning and shuffling through some feedback on his office computer. Still working. Good. Sighing in agitation, I twisted myself around in his chair once more. This time I was upside-down, and I could see Soundwave's dark blue pedes as solitary as ever.

_Maybe he _did _drop dead, finding me gorgeous, _I smirked, going down this trail yet again. With nothing else to do, I returned to my thoughts on him. He was straight-forward, and did his best to appear emotionless and detached. Though, I was pleased when he ran those calculating optics over me, although it did seem as if he could see straight into my spark. I gave a slight kick with one of my legs, keeping energon flowing into the limb. Frowning, I wished he weren't dead. How was I supposed to admire the guy, if he were dead? Shaking my head slightly to steer me away from those thoughts, I chewed my lip.

I was, in fact, concerned if Starscream found out that I had interacted with an Autobot target. And if he told Megatron, well... Let's just say I'd be scrap metal. Especially seeing as I didn't kill them. Not a one, either, even though it was tempting. I was too out of my mind at that moment, and as soon as I had let the beautiful dead-like mech down, I had ran to a tree and kicked as hard as I could. It was the only way to really alert the others without letting them know a 'con was nearby. _And who knows what happened to him. Maybe he is dead, _I frowned.

When they had ran past, I was already scrambling into the darkness, moving as swiftly as I dared as far as I could get. The Autobot party had thankfully pulled back into their territory, and I came down to erase any and all evidence. I couldn't let anyone else know this, for it was considered helping them. But if Starscream found out what I did, and found out that I hadn't reported this to him, he'd use me as leverage to get on Megatron's good side._ And then I wouldn't exist anymore, _I thought grimly.

"Work; completed. Jazz; still. What is the matter?" came an even, monotone voice from above. Sighing, I cut off any thoughts about Prowl and flipped myself so I could look at him. He cleared a space so that he could see me, and rested his hands face down on the desk. His visor and mask covered anything as to not give away any emotion, like someone else I know. Great.

"'Screamer ain't my first choice ta hang around," I grumbled. He stared at me, not saying anything, so I knew he wasn't buying it. Groaning, I slumped down onto his desk with my head resting on my arms. "That bein' said, I didn't report ta him about some Autobots that came 'round and left. They didn't pose much if any threat, so Ah didn't bother ta tell 'im," I explained softly. I kept my voice low the whole time so no-one outside could eavesdrop.

"Ah'm worryin' 'bout what he could say 'f he found out." Not a full confession, but a confession none-the less. Soundwave could probably already figure out that I was stressed, not just because of my body-language, but because my accent became more pronounced. I only let it slide with him, and well – let's not think about that right now.

Nodding, he thought about this. "Starscream; has not found out yet. Jazz; make sure that he wouldn't?" he inquired.

Surprised he would suggest this, I smiled sheepishly at him. "…yeah…" Pausing, he nodded once more.

"Jazz; has nothing to worry about." I blinked at him, and he explained. "Subject; deemed situation non-threatening. Mission; scouting only." Staring at him for a few more seconds, a tiny smile overtook my blank face. He was covering for me – something that was as rarely done among Decepticons as murder was in the Autobots. I nodded my thanks, relaxing immensely. Soundwave nodded back, and stood.

"Request; accompaniment to main computer?" Allowing my smile to grow a bit more, I stood myself and gestured for him to go first.

**- / -**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

I flicked my wings in agitation, as I was alone in my quarters. I had went to my office earlier once Ratchet had finally released me, only to find that Optimus had overwritten my codes and changed the password to open the door. It seems as if he was more determined than ever to ensure that my mental health was alright. However it was backfiring because it simply added to my stress. What was I to do without work? The only other things I did that were outside my office were refuelling, recharging, or I was in meetings, or off on a mission. I was currently sitting in my desk in my quarters. I had searched the drawers for any set-aside work, however my father must have been thorough – my whole quarters were barren of any datapads.

Frowning deeper, my thoughts returned to Jazz and his lack of knowing music. Before I knew it, I was walking through my door. I found myself at our Communications Officer Blaster's office door, and after a moment of thought, I knocked.

"C'mon in," was the response. Sighing imperceptibly, I entered to find a very surprised Blaster. Communications offices consisted of a chair at a computer console, with many monitors and radars. One of them was beeping softly, before Blaster typed something in to quiet it. He turned to face me in his chair, puzzlement written clearly over his face. Making sure to keep my wings in tight formation and my face empty, I dipped my head slightly in acknowledgement.

"What can I do for ya, Prowl?" He greeted. _Odd, he and Jazz seem to share a similar accent… _Shaking my head, I responded.

"I am not on duty, Blaster. I'm merely curious," I began. This seemed to make Blaster more confused, and in turn he gestured for me to take a seat in one of his lounging chairs. Hesitating for a moment, I took the offer and sat, raising my wings a litter higher so that they did not touch the back of the chair. Blaster smiled up at me a little, attempting to be welcoming.

"So what are ya curious about, then? Ya ain't seen often outside of ya're office." Frowning, I decided that telling him the reason why wouldn't be harmful.

"That would be because Optimus locked me out of it." I wasn't expecting, however, for Blaster to burst out laughing. Apparently such an event was hilarious. For me, it was simply stressful. Noticing my lack of humor, Blaster straightened, chuckling a little bit.

"I 'spose that ain't really funny for ya, huh?" Allowing a small frown, he got the last few chuckles out of his system before waving me on.

"Two things. Firstly, I would like to know if you had access to a universal chip that you could put some music onto," I began. Obviously interested, he smiled some more before taking said chip out with a flourish and plugging it into the computer console.

"Anythin' ya had in mind?" He was ready to type into his computer, his face telling me that he was finding the situation as odd as a Decepticon wearing pink. I thought a moment. He would tell others, and then me listening to music that I did not like would spread around base like a wildfire.

"How about some of everything? I haven't really listened to music and I barely know it." He gave me another odd look. "I have nothing else to do for a week, as I am on 'medical leave', and both Ratchet and Optimus insist on me having no work to do," I stressed. Blaster relaxed a little bit before chuckling.

"Sure thin'. So, like, wha', a starter pack kinda thin'?" Thinking a moment, I nodded.

"Precisely."

"Then why didn' ya say so," he grinned, and typed furiously into his computer. "Now, there's different genres. I have 10 differen' ones and th' music'll be listed under those genres," he explained excitedly, before shooting me an amused side-smile. "I thought ya'd like that. Now, th' genres are as follows; Rock, Alternative rock, Dubstep or dance or electronic, Pop, Hip-hop or rap, country, classical, Jazz or blues, RB n' soul, and last bu' not least, Soundtrack. Th' or's are 'cause some genres are called a couple 'a thin's." Pulling the now-full chip out of his computer, he handed it to me with a wide grin. "There ya are! 1,000 songs," he chuckled. "Think that'll last ya a week?"

Appalled, I took it. "Try a lifetime," I grumbled dryly. This produced a loud guffaw from him, and he slapped me on my shoulder. I frowned at the contact. I stood up, and once he had calmed down, I spoke to him about another topic. "Another curious thing that I have noticed today." At his curious tilt of his head, I continued. "Where did you get that accent? Not many Autobots have one," I questioned. He blinked at me a couple of times before shaking his red helm.

"I didn't 'get' my accent. I was born wit' it, silly." I tilted my own head in curiosity, and ignored the last part.

"Then do all members of a family line with the gene have an accent?" Raising an eyebrow, his face became stern. Leaning forward, he frowned at me.

"Why ya so curious 'bout this? Only me 'n 'hide have 'em." Looking to my left, I thought of an answer, before tilting my wings slightly.

"Would you prefer I ask Ironhide about his accent?" I responded dryly. My dry responses had him chuckling last time, and it had worked on Blaster another time. He smiled a bit and relaxed a little.

"I s'pose ya can't, huh? And Optimus is always workin'," he carefully replied, leaning back. "Like ya." Lifting my wings back into my tight formation, I nodded. He breathed a long sigh, before shaking his head. "No, only th' mechs with th' gene get it. My brother don't got one," he said out of the blue, his optics distant. He snorted in dry amusement. "But then again, he wasn't much of a talker anyway." He went silent, and I frowned. It had seemed this conversation had gotten personal. Clearing my throat lightly to bring him out of his reverie, I changed topics.

"And neither do I, so may I ask that this conversation and exchange," I lifted and showed him the chip he had gave me. "Remain a secret? I do not wish to be pestered by some twins about what I did here." That earned an amused chuckle. He nodded before standing up.

"Sure thin'. Those two can be a lil' hassle sometimes, that's for sure." Smiling, he lifted a hand. I shook it, murmuring agreement.

"…Thank you. I will leave you to your work." He nodded, before stretching out and yawning.

"Mm-hmm. See ya at th' meetin' tomorrow. Hopefully then ya'll be able to attend," he teased. Nodding, I turned and left just as he sat back down into his chair. Subspacing the chip, I hovered outside for a brief moment, before returning to my quarters.


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:**

**For my loyal reviewer (you know who you are ^_^); Ratchet said "You tell me. The others told us that one moment…" Also, thanks for giving me the reviews, it means a lot! =P**

**After that kinda-boring chapter, here ya go! Enjoy :P**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I snickered lightly to myself, struggling to keep quiet. Frenzy was below, and I was helping him to prank Starscream. So far so good. Starscream was in the rec. room complaining about something as he always did, and I had the glue ready in position above the door. Huffing about something, he stomped on the ground like a sparkling, and turned to storm out. _That's mah cue,_ I thought excitedly. As soon as he was a little ways away from being directly beneath me, I dumped the glue. It poured downwards, hitting Starscream in the front, then his face, and because he halted in shock, his shoulders and wings got the brunt of it. Frenzy immediately popped out with some bird feathers, and, screeching with joy, he dumped them all over the glue in a huge cloud of white, brown, and beige.

Giggling like the evil pit-spawn he was, Frenzy lifted his arms and I swooped down and plucked him out of everyone's line-of-sight. Little did I know was that all Starscream saw was a streak of silver. It was then, with me and Frenzy up in the rafters smothering our laughing like mad, did he let out a huge screech. It only made me and Frenzy crack up more, whilst the others in the rec room all flinched away from the angered Starscream-chicken. Except Barricade. He was laughing his aft off. But he was all the way in the corner, and a general, so he let him be.

Fuming, the Starscream-chicken growled and stormed out. A few feathers broke free and trailed him, making the situation more hilarious. Dying my laughing down to a few snickers, I high-fived Frenzy, before we both snuck through the rafters towards Soundwave's general direction. We dropped down in a secluded hallway, and laughed some more.

"Damn did-did ya see the _look _on his face…!?" I managed to squeeze out. Whooping in joy, Frenzy nodded frantically.

"I sure did!" He flailed his red-and-black arms in excitement. "And that _screech_, too!" We laughed some more, before I nodded.

"He always screeches," I snickered. Frenzy, calming down a bit as well, nodded back.

"Maybe that's why he's called Star_scream_," he howled, laughing some more. I tipped my head back and let the laughter rip through my gut, something that I couldn't do very often. After shushing each other, giggling, I lifted him up on my shoulders and stumbled slightly towards Soundwave's quarters. He would be returning shortly from his daily watch of the main computers, and I had taken Frenzy out to have some fun, before he wrecked something. Entering, while still giggling a bit, I set Frenzy down so that he could rush to Rumble and re-tell our hilarious outings.

Lazerbeak was perched on Soundwave's quarters' office chair, and chirped at my return. I whistled softly in his direction, before petting a groggy Ravage on the head, behind an ear. He purred sleepily, returning to his recharge and I sat down on the berth beside him, watching the two terrors exclaim things to each other on the simple couch. It didn't take long before Soundwave entered, causing the two terrors to shut up and for Lazerbeak to dive-bomb him. Ravage continued sleeping.

Soundwave lifted a hand to pet Lazerbeak after he circled him a couple times and landed on his shoulder. Frenzy and Rumble grinned at one another before running and each hugging a leg of Soundwave's. He wobbled forward, and glanced down at them. They were, in turn, smiling wickedly at him, and refused to budge. Chuckling softly to myself I gently picked up Ravage and scooted over, allowing for Soundwave to have a spot to sit. Nodding at me, he picked up a gleeful Lazerbeak and waddled over to the berth, before turning and sitting.

Ravage didn't like to be picked up much though, and the storm-grey cat rumbled in slight protest. Smiling, I set him down on Soundwave's lap, where he purred contentedly. The other two let go of Soundwave's legs and jumped up and snuggled him on his sides, while Lazerbeak perched onto Ravage and nuzzled his chassis. I looked up at Soundwave, as he got the others to calm down.

"So, any activity?" I tried, attempting at a conversation. He glanced my way for a second, before removing an intruding elbow from Rumble.

"Negative." I hummed lightly at this, before swinging my legs a bit. Then Frenzy stuck his tongue out at me, and I returned the gesture. Soundwave tapped Frenzy on the nose and shushed him, before looking back up at me with what I could only presume would be a nagging look. 'Don't do that please,' it seemed to say. I stuck my tongue out part-way at him, before returning to my humming. He let out a barely audible sigh, before rubbing underneath Lazerbeak's chin.

I pursed my lips and thought about how I could approach Soundwave with something that I've been thinking about since my last encounter with Prowl – now that the initial stress of 'is he dead!?' and 'will Starscream find out…?' has left his thoughts. Luckily for me, Soundwave was a telepath and picked up on what I was thinking.

"Explain," he rumbled, seemingly tired. Ending my humming, I sighed and nodded, before turning to his expectant gaze.

"What's music?" I asked, deciding to be blunt. Soundwave and the little ones all tensed, before he sighed.

"Jazz; would eventually ask. Music; reason for your name," he explained. He looked down at Ravage, and continued stroking Lazerbeak. I waited for him to continue, and he did. "Music; vocal and or instrumental sounds; combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion," he recited. I frowned lightly at him.

"Like mah hummin'?" I asked. That would explain some things, like how I tapped my fingers to make a series of noises to calm me when bored. He nodded. I looked away in thought. "However," he began, and I looked back at him. "Music; not to be anywhere in Decepticon base. Reason; banned." I frowned.

"How come?" I prodded. He gave me a stern look, before relenting.

"Music; reminds Decepticons of past. One in particular," he added. This simply made me more confused. "Also, music; considered to be soft. Decepticons; not soft. Therefore music; insult to Decepticons," he spoke softly. Odd, seeing as he never really strayed from his monotone voice.

"D'ya think it's an insult?" I questioned, cautiously. I never dug this deep into Soundwave, but I wanted to know his opinion on the matter. After a moment's thought, he expressed it.

"No. Music; made up of sound waves," he explained. I blinked under my visor at him.

"So, were ya named 'cause of that, or is it also 'cause signals and sound are also made up 'a sound waves?" Honestly, I was dying to find out. Were we all named from birth? Did our names shape us somehow..?

He shrugged. "Knowledge; unknown. Most presumed guess; both," he answered. He paused, before sighing. He dropped the monotone slightly, and I could hear a hint of sadness. "Brother; also named likewise. However brother; an Autobot," he spoke lowly. A sudden burst of excitement made my spark lift a little bit.

"…Can Ah ask what 'is name is…?" I waited for a few seconds, my spark beat the only sound I could hear. The little ones were in recharge.

"Blaster. Head of Autobot Communications," he murmured, before glancing back to me. "Blaster; shoot on sight. Understood?" he ordered. I paused, my mouth hanging slightly open, before slumping forward.

"Ah understand." I whispered. My spark dropped, and I couldn't help but feel down for a bit. Soundwave seemed the same. Sighing, I stood up.

"Thank ya, Sound. Ah'll leave ya ta reacharge for ya're evening watch," I spoke in farewell, sending thoughts of _I get how you feel _in his direction. He nodded, and laid down for some much-needed recharge. Turning away, I was just stepping through his door when a single thought slid into my head. _Hunch; you will make a similar choice soon. _That left me hovering outside his door, contemplating this.

Sighing, I pushed the thought into the back of my head to think about later. I searched the base for the nearest exit, and went outside for some much needed air.

**/ -**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

Groaning in frustration that nearly sounded like a growl, I left the base swiftly. My wings were more tense than normal, and pointed backwards like an animal's ears. I had nothing to do. Nothing, at all, until the meeting in a couple of hours. It frustrated me to no end. The only thing that had kept me amused also stressed my battle computer. The thoughts of him. Not to mention the music. I had it in my subspace as I stormed through the undergrowth. _Undergrowth..? _I paused. Looking behind me, I realized that I had left the trail in my angry muttering. Sighing, I breathed in a few deep vents, attempting to cool myself down. It wasn't like me to miss details.

Calculating how far I was from my territory was difficult, as I had missed when I had exactly left the trail. _Great, _I muttered in my thoughts. I had to calm down, and soon. Hopefully I could get back in time for the meeting. That would at least keep me occupied. Groaning, I was about to make my way back in the direction I came when I heard a small ruffle. Freezing, my wings flew up to detect where the sound had come from. Frowning when they were met with nothing, I continued. A few minutes had passed by when I encountered a clearing in the forested area. I sighed in agitation, as there weren't many of these in or close to our border. I was about to consider pinging the base for a general direction when I head a curious tapping noise. Tensing, I slowly turned around.

Only to find Jazz tapping a rhythm onto tree bark, his red visor pinned to my figure. Not in the mood, I groaned in frustration.

"How is it that whenever I so happen to take _step _outside, you're here," I shot at him, huffing before turning away. I kept his silhouette in the corner of my vision, of course. I wasn't that emotional. _Emotional. I just got _emotional_ on front of a _Decepticon! Frowning more, I did my best to vent evenly. Such an action stuttered slightly at the sound of him whistling.

"Mech, how come whenever I meet'cha your either distanced or pissed, hmm?" he wondered out loud, making me wince. I sighed, before studying him with a level gaze. He was walking silently towards me, hands open in peace. He seemed relaxed, and curious. If the past meant anything, it meant that Jazz meant no harm towards me. Which was odd.

"Why did you not attack me when I gl- er, passed out?" I questioned, grinding my denta together at the slip. He stopped a mere foot from me, and my temperature rose a few degrees. Ignoring it, I watched him tilt his head to the side.

"Why did ya pass out on meh in th' first place, Prowler?" he shot back, smirking at his new pet name for me. I frowned, and crossed my arms in an uncharacterized motion.

"My name is Prowl, not Prowler. And for the record, the only reason why I am emotionally out of balance," I allowed a slight hiss at that last part. "Is because they learned of my passing out." Jazz growled slightly, and took a slight step towards me. Something in me rose to meet the challenge in his action, and I got slightly angrier. Therefore, I didn't step aside, and instead rose to my full height. I kept my wings down, though, as his armour puffed out slightly.

"And wha' was Ah s'posed ta do? Leave ya there, wit' no idea wha' jus' happened!?" he growled, his voice rising higher. Narrowing my optics, I shot back at him.

"You tell me. You _are _the Decepticon here." That snapped him out of it, and he stepped a couple steps back as if what I had just said was an insult. Realizing what I just said might have indeed hurt him, guilt seeped into my already out-of-whack mind. Illogically, I responded in kind.

"… My apologies. I…" I relaxed slightly and vented out some hot air. "I cannot focus right without something to do. A result of my glitch, which then made them take away my work in fear of my mental health." Cringing, I internally scolded myself. That was more than over 97.89% of the Autobot population knew, and I just told my weaknesses to a Decepticon. Surprisingly enough, it didn't seem to please him, either. He sighed, and crossed his arms.

"'s alright. Ah can get moody sometimes too," he chuckled. My wings twitched in agitation. I was not, in all but this situation, moody. Hesitating, he continued. "Ah can't sit still for th' life of meh. If that helps," he added on. Sighing, I nodded, and looked around us. The surrounding area was unfamiliar.

"I do not normally get upset." He hummed lightly, and nodded.

"Ah can tell. You keep ya're wings high and ya're face cold," he observed. I turned to look back at him, only to find him looking at the same place I was looking. So he was a keen observer as well, it seemed. My hypothesis was proven correct. "You're in th' wrong direction from your territory. It's that way," he said, gesturing to behind him. I tilted my head to the side as he glanced at me. "You're actually quite close to my territory. Be glad I found ya and not someone else," he growled lightly. It seemed like that last prospect bothered him. I thought for a moment, before realizing what I had in my subspace.

"Alright then. A favor for a favor," I said. This got his attention on me, and he was gazing at me with rapt curiosity. I dug around my subspace before taking out the chip. "I had our Communication's officer make me this. It's a universal chip with music," I explained. At the mention of music, he went from looking stunned to joyous.

"Ya're kiddin'?" he breathed. I shook my head, and demonstrated how the chip was inserted. My port was on my arm, and I took it back out before handing it to him. Curiously enough, he looked like a sparkling receiving his first treat. He immediately popped it into a port in his neck, and jumped slightly.

I unconsciously held my breath as a huge, genuine smile slid onto his face. _His smile is beautiful, _I thought in trying-but-failing-to-suppress-it awe. It was all I could do to stand there as his pede started tapping. Then his hips started swaying, and I couldn't help but stare. He tossed his silver helm back and laughed under his breath, before spinning around. He did a full circle around my still frame, grin still in place. It seemed like mere seconds, as well as an eternity, but he slowly stopped his dancing when the song ended. He put it on pause before staring at me with matched amazement. We stood there for a few minutes, both breathing heavily, when he spoke.

"Thank you." It was soft, and I barely even heard it. Stunned into stupor, I could only nod numbly. Then my fans kicked in, and I was snapped out my enthrallment. He chuckled at my embarrassed expression, and I quickly glanced away, clearing my throat. Smiling softly at me, he quickly grabbed an internal datapad and scribbled on it. The datapad grabbed my attention, and I furrowed my eyebrows in wonder. My questions were finally answered when he handed it to me. Blinking, I found a Commlink number quickly scribbled down.

"Whenever you're outta base, or in trouble. Cool?" I stuttered some in shock. My mouth opened, and when nothing came out I quickly subspaced it and nodded. He seemed amused by this, and chuckled softly. It was a nice sound. I figured that I liked it. My spark fluttering rapidly in my chest I nodded once more.

"I suppose it's always nice meeting you," I mumbled. This caused a grin to appear on his face, a he hummed lightly.

"Seein' as I saved ya once and ya gave me the best gift ever," he laughed lightly. "I would have ta agree… Prowler." He added with a smirk and a wink of his visor. I allowed a small smile to form around the corner of my mouth. Just then an internal alarm decided to ruin whatever moment it was that we were sharing. Straightening, I cursed under my breath. Jazz, Curious as ever, tilted his head at me.

"I have a meeting to attend to that starts in half an hour," I sighed. Nodding, I turned to go – in the correct direction this time. "You'll have to excuse me," I said softly. He smirked at me before putting his clawed hand on my shoulder. It was warm and… pleasant.

"You're gonna have ta run fast, ta be there on time." I blinked at him, before my wings shot up and I cursed lightly under my breath. I turned to go and ran towards the base, rushing to get there on time. The last I heard of him was a light chuckle.

**/ -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I chuckled as the scattered Prowl ran towards base._ Damn, was he ever just adorable when embarrassed_, I thought softly. I sighed dreamily, not knowing that I did so, before shaking my head and gazing fondly in the direction that he had left. Music still cued, it was the best thing I have ever been through. The music… the words, the sound… it just felt so _right_. I smiled to myself, humming the tune under my breath, and skipped around the small clearing. _It turns out this trip was worth it,_ I thought happily.

Unfortunately, I got a transmission. Grimacing, I scolded myself. _Can't be happy all th' time, I guess. Get over it. _Biting my lip, I accepted it.

"Jazz 'ere."

"Get back to base," came a deep, dark growl. My tanks lurched at the sound of his rough voice, and fear seeped into my joints. Shaking myself, I immediately responded, already turning for the base.

"Yes, My Lord."

**- / -**

I hesitated outside for a brief moment, before knocking. I was told by a smug (and cleaned) Starscream that I was to meet him in the throne room. Alone. Swallowing thickly, I kept my precious chip where it was, in hopes that he either didn't search there or damage it, as ports were extremely difficult to replace.

"Come in," Was the growled response. Taking in a breath to calm my jittery nerves, I did so. I swept across the room in fast strides, before diving into a kneel, my face mere inches away from the gun-metal grey floor.

"My Lord," I greeted neutrally without looking. I made sure that my accent didn't slip through – he _hated _my accent. He took a moment to study me before answering. I could practically _feel _those smoldering, scarlet optics burning over me in their studies. I wasn't expecting him to rise, however, and I managed to prevent myself from flinching. Barely. I learned the hard way that doing so showed weakness. I could feel as well as hear his booming steps, resting a mere foot away from me. I did my best to remain still, without either fluffing my armor, shifting my weight uncomfortably, or growling in annoyance. I was expecting a hit, or even a growl in his rage. None came.

"Up," he spoke softly, as if kind. Fear gnawing on my circuits, I set my face into impassive stone and did as he said. It was worse when he pretended to be calm. Much worse. I kept my gaze low, respectful, staring at the Decepticon insignia proudly emblazoned on his silver chassis. That was, until I felt a rough claw dig into my chin, forcing my gaze into his. His smoldering scarlet optics burned into mine, dampened by my blood-red visor. I didn't even dare to swallow as he smirked, purring.

"Welcome home… My son."


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note: **

**Sorry I've been gone for so long folks! I had to study and do my Diplomas. And lemme tell ya, Math is so not my subject XP**

**If you have any suggestions about anything, like how my characters are portrayed, feel free to let me know. I have a difficult time writing some people. ****J****Thank you all for your reviews, follows, and favourites, they mean a lot! ^_^**

**Enjoy~**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I cut back a whine as I attempted to move my legs. It was early morning, and I had to get up to see what duties Soundwave would assign me once he got off of his night watch. However, the state in which Megatron had left me in last night was hindering me. I'm seriously injured on my shoulders, back, and had a couple of deep gashes in my sides. I can't walk without my one leg limping and my front and helm have some deep scratches - no bleeding though, which was good. He left my visor, neck, and crotch alone which I'm thankful for. No internal organs missing. Just a lesson. _Note to self: no turnin' Screamer into a chicken_, I thought dryly. Starscream had of course seen nothing but a silver streak, and blamed it all on me. Furious, he went to complain to Megatron about me. Which then resulted in a smug SIC and an angry Lord.

Sighing, I laid back down, and activated more self-built protocols to conserve energon and block off bleeding. It was how Soundwave found me, when he came in a while later to see why I didn't show. I kept my gaze locked onto my dull ceiling, however I noticed him take me in before entering my room all the way. He stood over me, before dipping his head slightly.

"Jazz: Trouble from our Lord?" he asked the obvious question. I let out a small grunt, as I didn't want my sides to start bleeding again. Soundwave stood still for a few moments, before letting out a soft sigh. He sat down next to me, and started fiddling with something in his hands – I couldn't see what. Most times when I got in trouble and Soundwave wasn't busy, he would cleverly input some fact that would either make my 'punishment' lighter or I would avoid it altogether. This time, though, he was on night watch duty – and I have a feeling Starscream knew it.

"Up," he stated. Grunting with effort, I used my arms to lift myself up. He gestured to sit beside him on the edge, and I dragged my feet over the edge – well, my left one anyway. My right was injured at the hip and had a deep gouge along my calf. So, I picked it up with my hands and moved it over, thankful I was flexible. Looking up at him, I noticed a familiar grey-blue tube in his hands, and intaked a little too sharply.

"Is that what Ah think it is..?" I wished that it wasn't, however my body really wanted it to be. One of my earliest memories was me getting hurt for the first time and the doctor that had fixed me got beheaded by Megatron. He had said that anyone who helped me with my injuries would share the same fate. His reasoning was somewhere along the lines of 'I didn't when I was young', and 'endurance,' or whatever. Soundwave simply nodded.

"Nanites." Aw scrap. Two gifts in two days? Nanites would help my healing and speed up the recovery process by 10 times the normal amount. They were quite difficult to come by, and as we didn't believe in doctors or medicine, locked up tight. I was about to open my mouth and protest, but he shook his head. "Jazz: Skilled at stealth. Duties: Not until second round. Suggestion: Heal, and do scouting." I paused, before nodding. He handed it to me.

"Advise: Small doses. Appear: Still damaged," he cautioned. Swallowing, I nodded again before sending thoughts of gratitude towards him. He nodded back before handing me a datapad. "Datapad: Scouting details." I breathed out slowly, and thanked him softly in my head. He stood, and after a moment's hesitation, saw himself out of my quarters.

**- / -**

Stretching my arms over my head, the only protest I got from my injuries were slight pain and stiffness. I smirked somewhat proudly at the knowledge that most Autobots in the same condition would be moaning in pain. Taking in a deep breath of fresh air, I started my trek into the woods to meet up with a recon party. The assignment was simple; there was another section of Decepticon territory that was over abandoned ruins of the old Tarn city. I was to meet with a recon party to do some scouting and then stop the interference from the Autobots with the help of Decepticons in the area.

The knowledge of old ruins surprised me. I never wandered far beyond our own main territory, and I never knew of such things before the war. According to Soundwave's helpful side-notes, we were born from something called a 'Well', and the planet was all Cyber-formed to meet our needs. However, with an ancient war, the planet started to deteriorate into the organic material that it was destined to be. It didn't affect us much, as it was as natural to us as the cyber-formed landscape, and Energon deposits were natural still. The only problem was, we couldn't build cities or even buildings, or technologies that could help us with the war.

I leapt up and slid around a tree in glee. I was going to explore someplace that wasn't the dreary old base, and they thought it time to finally give me some good use. _Ah'll be fightin' against some Autobots, _I hummed happily. Then I paused, right before jumping down from a branch. What if Prowl was there? Frowning, I shook my head. He was my enemy. If found, I would have no choice but to attack him. Pursing my lips, I jumped down and continued to leap and twist through shadows. _Though, I'd rather that I attack 'im than another crazy 'Con, _I supposed, thinking deeply about it. Sighing, I decided to clear my head, and played some of Prowl's precious music – only in one part of my head however, and softly. I still needed to be alert of everything around me.

Allowing a soft grin to form on my face, I danced and twirled my way into the unknown.

**- / -**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

Blinking, I brought my focus back towards the droning lecture of Red Alert. Sighing internally, I scolded myself. This was important information that was vital for me to know. Unfortunately, the image of a dancing Jazz kept trying to sneak into my thoughts. Frustrated with myself, I tried to recap on what the other officers had said in this meeting. Ratchet had started by stating what annoyances the Twins had been, before moving on to more important things like how we needed a few things for the Medbay as we were running out of stock. Then Ironhide, with nothing to report on security and bringing up his not liking of it. _The Decepticons have been calm lately_, I mused. Blaster had given the same report about not hearing much over their airways, but then pointed out that it was always difficult seeing as Soundwave was just as adept at Communications as he.

Mirage was sitting patiently, for once, and I presumed that he had some sort of mission that Optimus would bring up. Optimus, as Prime and our leader, always presented last. So that left after Red Alert; Sideswipe, Preceptor, Wheeljack, and myself. Sideswipe was here for the rest of the soldiers, and although he and his brother weren't considered officers, they were in the majority of our plans and so we included him in our meetings. In turn, Sideswipe would tell us about topics and situations that may or may not be troubling the Autobot army. Only Sideswipe, however, for Sunstreaker could be unpredictable at times. He was to keep watch outside.

Just then, Red alert finished. There was an audible unanimous sigh from the room. It did not comfort me that the others also had difficulties keeping focus on him. Optimus gestured for me to go, so I straightened myself more, although others would deem in near impossible in my already so rigid posture.

"I have not much to report. Decepticon activity has been silent, and only the occasional prank and explosion has happened," I reported formally, my voice even. Once I mentioned the pranks and explosion, Wheeljack gave out an embarrassed cough and Ratchet had glared at a smug Sideswipe.

"That being said, I have not been on duty due to medical reasons. I will be returning to my duties tomorrow," I informed, glancing quickly at Optimus for confirmation. He gave a slight nod, and I nodded back before relaxing marginally.

"Perceptor?" And just like that, the attention slid off of me and onto a willing Science Officer. He rambled on about a few various experiments with potential, and Wheeljack intercepted at points when they had shared notes in the procedures. Because of this, he hadn't had much to report for himself, save the explosion on his latest invention.

Sideswipe had nothing to report aside from the Autobot army also not liking the silence from the Decepticons. And then it was either Mirage or Optimus. Mirage looked up at Optimus, before he gave a gesture for him to go first. Clearing his throat, Mirage spoke up.

"My intelligence agents have contact from Old Tarn," he began. Everyone in the room perked up with interest, whilst I was confused. Old Tarn? Where was that, exactly? Pleased with the attention, Mirage continued. "It seems we got some Decepticon activity after all. They are after something on the outskirts of the ruins, in the destroyed tunnels. We don't know what, but it seems very valuable to them as they've dispatched a few Decepticons from the main territory to meet up with Shockwave just a few hours ago." That produced some light murmurs from the other officers, and Optimus raised a hand for silence.

"Activity on such a scale shows of its grave importance. I fear that whatever this might be could change the tides in their favor in this war. However, I also fear that this might also be a trap. If we send too many troops to aid them in securing whatever the Decepticons are after, they might launch a full scale attack on us."

Activating my battle computer, it confirmed the likelihood of this happening with a surprising 76.82%, give or take 5.76% with the probability of them sending elite officers instead of regular troops. If they sent regular troops, the resulting percentage would rise to 82.58%, something not to risk.

"Then wha's the plan?" Asked Blaster, after a few moments of the room's hushed whispering. Sighing, Optimus answered.

"I would like to send a team of trained soldiers to intercept the Decepticons that will be led by Mirage. However, I would like your opinions on whom should be going as well," he stated. I thought for a moment, before speaking up.

"We're going to need to know how many Decepticons have left, and if possible who. Perhaps that way we will be able to counter them most efficiently," I requested smoothly. Ratchet, Ironhide, Wheeljack and Blaster all nodded at my answer. Mirage dipped his head in thought, before taking out a datapad.

"At the moment we only have rough estimates, and we've narrowed it down to a team of 10-12. We know that Shockwave's going to meet him there, and he has his own crew of Decepticons. We've been told that they have only one general below Shockwave, and the rest are all regular troops. Not including the odd terror here or there," he shuddered lightly. "The Decepticons sent are either giants made for war, or a few smaller, agile frames. This leads us to believe that they're only helping a small amount with scouting, and the rest are backups for if we attack," he informed.

"Is Ultra Magnus and the others planning on attacking?" Grumbled an intrigued Ratchet. This time, Optimus answered.

"He is waiting on our decision. He recommends sending our troops to him, and he will aid us with his own. He and Mirage are both to debate movements and decisions, before acting on them together." At this, he shared a glance with Mirage, who nodded.

At that moment, I was sent a ping from Mirage with intelligence on what mechs were under Ultra Magnus' control – a small team of wreckers, tough and yet elusive. He also sent me a side not on who Ultra Magnus and Shockwave were, which I was thankful for. Thanking him with a ping of my own, I skimmed through the information in deep thought, while Blaster was asking about secure comm-lines. His answer was that Soundwave has not been reported of leaving, so he relaxed marginally. I was brought out of my thoughts when Sideswipe spoke up.

"They have some tough guys, and some smaller guys. So what if you sent me and Sunny? We're both tough and agile, and we can handle what you guys throw at us." Ratchet began to protest, however Perceptor cut him off.

"They seem most suited for this task, but again what if we send all of our best soldiers away and they ambush us?" Red Alert began to be fizzing at all of this, and did not seem to like where this was going. Thinking about this, my battle computer came up with a solution.

"If we keep Ironhide and Red Alert here while the twins depart, we can keep our security levels up at an ideal high. That way the twins can be where they are most effective and we will be able to maintain ourselves in case of attack," I supplied. This seemed to please the others, and Sideswipe seemed anxious to leave already.

Optimus nodded, approving. With my advice, other pieces came into place and the others immediately supplied troops that were best suited for this task while keeping our defenses high. Optimus approved, and the team that would be departing would consist of Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Hound, Cliffjumper, Trailbreaker, Smokescreen, Seaspray, and Hoist.

With that the meeting ended, and we filed out with muffled conversations with one another. I stood and waited for Optimus to leave, and today he was the last one. He gave me a knowing glance, and gestured for me to join him towards his office. On the way there, he explained to me a bit of history.

He told me that we were created from a historical Well of All sparks, and the planet was at the time Cyber-formed to meet our needs. However, there was an ancient war, and in the result of a lost event the planet started to deteriorate into the organic material that it was destined to be. It is biologically compatible and Energon deposits are still natural. An issue however, is the fact that without much Cybertronium we couldn't and still can't build cities or even buildings. The same went with a few larger technologies that could help us with the war, like cannons or to fortify ourselves with walls.

Sitting in his office, I nodded, deep in thought. Optimus allowed me to sink this in, before explaining that when Earth turned itself organic many things could not be repaired, and with the war, we had to delve into the organic forests and accommodate. I would have asked about how a planet full of people could become so few, but logic told me that it was because of pervious wars and the currently ongoing war. Sighing, he leaned back and relaxed.

"I believe that is enough for a while," he rumbled softly. He too seemed lost in his thoughts, his face barely concealing the sadness shown in his optics. The look on his face brought my thoughts to something I seldom allowed myself to think about. Slightly pursing my lips in concentration, I figured now was a time of any to ask him a few things.

"Father… How is it that I have wings and you do not? Did you have wings and then loose them?" I inquired. Optimus looked over at me with sadness in his optics before allowing a rare, yet small smile.

"You have wings because your mother had winglets." Tilting my head slightly, I nodded. His optics became unfocused, and realizing that he was reliving a memory with a lost loved one, any other questions died before they could reach my tongue. Bowing my head in respect, I softly excused myself to leave. He didn't respond, so I saw myself out and into the hallway.

Sighing softly to take my mind off of what had just happened, I turned to head to my office. Reports would be in the making and there was a mission to plan, after all. However, my dreams of work faded when I bumped into the Twins. Sideswipe grinned at me, and Sunstreaker's scowl lessened a little.

"Heya Prowl! You weren't thinking of working now, hmm?" he teased, before petting my shoulder. Frowning, I stared to walk slowly around him, however I didn't turn my whole body around.

"You are to leave tomorrow, and I must ensure that plans are made so that you might travel there safely," I lightly harried. This earned a snort from Sunstreaker, and a chuckle from his brother. They read my body language and joined me on my trip to my office. Sideswipe hummed for a little while, and we were almost there when he spoke up again.

"Y'know… You seemed kinda distracted at the meeting today," he started interestedly. Keeping my face impassive, I turned to look at him. He wiggled his eyebrows at me suggestively.

"Is that so," I mused. My voice and face passive, I continued to my office. Now it was his brother's turn to speak up.

"You aren't normally distracted, especially during meetings," he stated wryly. I dipped my head slightly to acknowledge this. Thinking a moment before I answered, Jazz popped back into my head. Unfortunately for me, I was thinking about him during the meeting, which had me distracted. The Twins couldn't know that, of course. My thoughts were interrupted when Sideswipe came to a stop in front of me, an amused expression on his face.

"Well? Who is he?" He boldly asked. My wings twitched slightly in annoyance.

"There is none," I automatically answered. "I was thinking about why Optimus would lock me out of my own office, is all," I admitted when he gave me a doubtful look. That seemed to appease them a little bit, but it didn't comfort them entirely. Dipping my head in the direction of my office, I continued.

"Now that I am not locked out of said office, I would like to get a start on those plans so that you and the others will arrive safely. Feel free to join me if you'd like," I added dryly. I knew the two of them wouldn't be able to sit there for more than a minute before becoming bored. Sideswipe shook his head rapidly, and Sunstreaker muttered something about polishing under his breath before leaving with his brother. Lifting my wings an inch in victory, I turned to continue to my office so that I might get some work done.


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:**

**Thank you all for viewing my story, reviews are greatly appreciated ^_^**

**I'm starting school soon and I have to work this weekend so I'll be doing my best to write ahead :P **

**Side Note: Shockwave is a Prime-verse model, and in the next chapter I'll be introducing the 'Other P.O.V.'Any ideas on what the 'Thing of Interest' is? *Raised eyebrow***

* * *

><p><strong>Jazz's P.O.V.<strong>

I was quite rudely awoken by someone shaking my shoulder. Growling lightly, I onlined my visor to see who the damn mech was. It was one of the 'cons that was a part of the recon team. Continuing my growling, I sat up when the mech gave me a dirty look and left my view. I stretched my arms and stood before shaking out my legs. I took a look around. I had travelled for the rest of the afternoon, evening as well as part of the night before I met up with them at the edge of the forest. The others were ordered to stay and wait for me, as they had left the night before I had left. They only waited a few hours before sleeping however, for many of them were bulky and not as fast as me. _Actually, none of them are. Ah'm the slimmest one here, _I thought to myself smugly.

The other ten Decepticons rose from their makeshift berths in the dirt before coming to a stand before the ugly green and purple guy that decided to wake me up. He snarled at his troops before dishing out orders.

"Listen here, you weaklings." This earned a few growls, my own included as I circled around until I was diagonal from him, out of the group. "We're about to go into the old ruins of Tarn. Shockwave's already gonna meet us there, and I don't want you guys messing anything up." His rough voice was almost an insult to my audio horns. "Any still-remaining or more likely half-standing buildings crumble like you wouldn't believe, so if any debris fall onto you you're on your own. Got it?"

There was a chorus of grumbled or growled affirmatives, and after that the mech turned to glare at me. Crossing my arms, I nodded stiffly. Like I would get pinned by a bunch of oversized boulders. I wasn't a damned idiot, thank-you-very-much. Nodding in conclusion, he turned and left the small clearing that we were in. A few others followed suit, and I mingled into their small company. Well, as mingled as you can get when they decide to leave a wide berth around you. Smirking at their timidity around me, I followed through the thinning forest past a few crumbled boulders. _Hey wait a minute, _I thought when one of them caught the early sunlight. _Those ain't boulders made of rock. They're metal boulders. Interstin'. Why haven't they melted 'em and used 'em for things…? _My thoughts were interrupted when the whole forest seemed to fall away to reveal large yet old and crumbing metal structures soaring ahead, the tallest being perhaps twice the average tree size.

I allowed myself to stop for a brief moment to evaluate my new surroundings, and it was apparent that the others did too. Only briefly, however, and we continued walking through the old ruins. _So this is what a city is,_ I pondered awestruck. The metal was dull, however still huge and chunky. Walking by I could see caved in rooms and levels upon levels of abandoned rooms, some caved in and some without roofs. Local flora seemed to have laid claim on these structures, as vines and other organic vegetation seemed to weave their way into the cracks and the rust. In some roofless areas shrubs, trees, flowers and other fauna grew, stretching out towards the sunlight. In a way, it was rustic and… beautiful.

I did my best not to look so awestricken, however, when I heard a poorly muffled snicker behind me. I turned slightly and growled over my shoulder, before keeping my head lower. The roads were cracked and woven with grasses, and there were some elevated roads. One seemed to be missing its middle, and the road we were trotting on led underneath it. It was if I was looking at a nature-taken gate to the centre of the city.

Looking lower and around me, I saw debris everywhere, and most of it seemed to be from age, weather, or from the vegetation growing so large in the cracks that parts of buildings fell. Flowers bloomed, and some scattered small to medium trees were growing. After an hour of walking, I was taking in what landmarks the old city had – like a broken statue that had a bowl-like bottom and had a pool in it. There were some birds taking a bath out of it, and some flew off when we passed by the street. Or that large, battered and broken sign with faded lettering that seemed to be wrapped around a tree. After another hour, while I appreciated the scenery, I started to get antsy.

"How big is this place, anyway?" I muttered lowly. We were already walking far to one side, and every few blocks we stopped to look for signs of anyone nearby. What I had said earned a few snorts, before one of the older 'cons turned to me.

"This isn't even the largest of the old cities. They have huge land spans, and it can take a few hours of walking to get to one place from another." At my stunned expression, the older guy huffed. "Back then we also had alt forms, and we just drove on four or two wheels from place to place. It shortened our times immensely, but we can't drive with all this damned growth. Takes up too much 'gon, too," he growled. It seemed that these 'alt modes' would've been nice. Especially seeing as the other 'cons then grumbled about how much easier this would be if they still had them. _Maybe they still do. Ah see screamer still has wings, _I pondered.

Before I could voice this, Ugly-Purple-and-Green raised his hand and stopped suddenly. We stilled, and the others lowered themselves. Looking to my left, I found a shady opening in the wall and slipped inside just enough so that I seemed to disappear, and still have a good idea on what was happening. A few moments past, and then our stillness came in handy. Across the way on the other side of the road, appeared two Autobots. One red, one yellow. Peeking my head out a little bit more, the two seemed familiar. _Hey, wait a minute… Ain't those two the same ones tha talked to Prowl..? _The ones that were, for the most part, worried about him and his health.

So that meant if those two were here, they were sent from the main base. Which also meant that others were not far behind, and Prowl could be here as well. Frowning, I tilted my head to hear only the light shuffling of their pedes, and the more prominent whispering between a few 'cons.

"Aren't those two the Twins?" One asked.

"You mean the 'fearless duo', that managed to hack apart five of our troops with ease," hissed another. He didn't seem too happy about finding these two. So by the sounds of things, not only were these two concerned about Prowl, but they were great in battle as well. That earned a bubble of respect in my opinion. There was a couple of other mutterings, before a quick glare from Ugly silenced them. Searching the shadows for my face for a few moments, his gaze locked onto mine and he shifted to allow space for his arm to move. He gestured for me to go around and scout, and made a circle in the air before pointing ahead and showing 7 digits. Assuming it meant to meet up with them 7 blocks ahead, I nodded my head and slipped into the crumbling building.

From there it wasn't difficult to scale along the rubble to another opening on the far side higher up. Cautiously crawling forward, I poked my head out of the hole to see the Twins making their way over and across the intersecting street before disappearing. Frowning at their lack of stealth, I presumed this was a tactic to get us shooting at them and to reveal our location. We were known for being quite tempered and trigger-happy, after all. Searching for a way to get to the building they had appeared from, I found a rather thick-looking vine a few meters higher up. Ducking my head back in, I scaled the inside of the building before shimmying out through a crack a foot to the left of the vine.

I twisted through the air and landed in a crouch on the vine, making sure to keep my centre of gravity low. It wouldn't do to fall off and attract attention. I scanned the area for any other movements, but only found the head of Ugly peeking out of their hidey-hole. I quickly scuttled across the vine, and my efforts to keep the vine still paid off. Sighing out in relief, I flipped upwards onto an outcropping just a little upwards. Flattening myself to the smooth metal wall behind, I lowered my body to the ground and peered over. Sure enough, behind a series of bushes was a small dip in the ground beside the road, and in that concealed dip was the rest of the small Autobot party. There was seven bots down in the dip, and most of them shifted uncomfortably as they waited for the other two's return. _At least there's no Prowl, and the other winger don't look like 'im much, _I thought when I only recognized one, and it was because Soundwave had once described him to me. Mirage, the Head of Autobot Intelligence. If anyone was to decide to annoy Soundwave and to gather Decepticon intel, it was him. And as I knew, all officers of the Autobot Army was a shoot-on-sight_. _

I lifted my head as to catch the Ugly Decepticon's attention, however he didn't notice. I raised an arm as well to catch the seemingly oblivious mech's gaze, and after a few moments it worked. He shrugged at me, and in return I pointed downwards toward the Autobot party, and flashed him 7 digits. After a moment's hesitation, he nodded before gesturing slightly to the crown of his head and tilting it. A question. _Crown of the head… Crowns. People of importance? _I mused, before the answer flashed in my head. _Ah, Officers. _I nodded, before air signing Mirage's name. He paused, before nodding and took out a gun. He turned back to give the others orders.

_So Ah take it we're attacking, _I thought to myself dryly as he attempted to sneak around. The others, lying low, attempted to be sneaky and crawled to flank them. Luckily for the other Decepticons, a distraction prevented them from being seen. Unfortunately for them, it was the return of the Twins. I lowered and tilted me head so that my Audio Horns could pick up sounds better. They were muttering something about how there were no apparent sightings of Decepticons, and I picked out a couple of words about something else. Those words were; "Ultra," Magnus," "Tunnels," "Be here somewhere," and "Awaiting." Frowning, I raised my head in time to see Ugly – the idiot – leap over the bushes and start firing. The Autobots were lucky, and managed to dodge without any major injuries, however the others promptly rushed in as well, and made the mistake of firing in close vicinity of the Autobots. Half of their ammo ricocheted off of the old metal walls and came flying back at them. _Idiots, _I scolded them silently.

When Ugly growled something and raised his arm up and down like a flailing bird's wing, I figured that was his signal for me to come down and help him. Frowning, I thought a moment about what this meant. Either they would see me, and at least one of them would report me to the others, and I would be known. The other option was to kill them all, and something in my tanks twisted slightly at the thought of this. Sighing, I decided that my duties as a Decepticon was to attack, and so I launched myself up and over the ridge – aiming for the small orange, blue, and white one's shoulders. Flipping in the air, I whirled out my blade and my pedes found purchase on the little guy's shoulders. He didn't even have time to cry out, before my blade had severed his head from any connections from its body.

I did a backflip and landed in a crouch, just as the head bounced and his body thumped on the ground. The body hitting the ground cleared my view for me to see that the yellow twin had seen the whole ordeal. Our gazes locking, the others fighting seemed to melt away. Growling, I shook my head to rid the oncoming fight lust that Megatron had attempted to install in me when I was little. I looked back up in time to see the yellow twin stalk towards me, his face seemingly ensuring my death. I harshly reminded myself that he was the twin to the red one, and I kept on the alert. Fighting just him would be like fighting anyone else, but to take them both on made my common sense scream disaster.

I raised myself to a defensive position, and drew out another short blade and waited for his attack. It didn't take too long, as it had appeared I had angered him. Growling lightly, he didn't bother with weapons and made for a quick jab to my face. Lifting my right arm to block, I swiftly stabbed out with my left, hoping to gut him on his right side. With astonishing speed, the yellow twin spun away from my dagger and kicked my back – hard. Twisting around, I met his smug face. I was not expecting that, to say the least.

Grinning, I beckoned him closer with my blade. He came in close to feint a punch on my right before coming in to punch at my left. I didn't blink at his feint, and instead jumped to the right to avoid his punch. Not expecting _me _to move that quickly, he stumbled slightly at the loss of impact. He righted himself enough as to put a leg out to trip me as I moved in closer, however I just used it as a launching pad and front flipped over him. As I was upside-down, I used the momentum of my front flip to slice his left shoulder open. About two inches deep, it would slow him down but it wouldn't make him bleed out – I had just grazed the main line in his limb. With him grunting in surprise, I landed on my feet and spun to slice his calves open, as well. I would've sliced open his joints if he hadn't moved back a little to turn around. I ducked and rolled out of his reach as he sent a kick my way, and sprung up only to be shoved back down.

Seeing red in my vision, I correctly guessed that his twin was now on me. I twisted and slithered out of his hold, not meaning to but conveniently slicing his forearms as I did so. I heard someone coming at me, and I leapt out of the way just in time, and turned to see the twins on top of one another in a moving, hissing mess.

"Decepticons, fall back!" roared Ugly, and I turned to see him without a right hand and many deep gashes scattered over his frame. His opponent, Mirage, was currently buried beneath some rubble. Hearing a curse word in the direction of the twins, I flipped backwards to avoid gunfire. Twisting to put my blades away – and realizing I only had one, the sneaky… I melted into the abandoned building.

Panting, I considered myself lucky to be alive. I had just barely managed to avoid a fight with both of the twins at once, and it appeared to be because Ugly had just lost a hand. Looking around at my dimly lit surroundings, I realized that the others would be somewhere else, as I had slipped in through a small hole. Looking upwards at some still-standing beams, I took a deep breath and leapt upwards to find another opening.

**- / -**

I sat with the others at Shockwave's makeshift camp. They were all badly beaten, and as I was practically unscathed they kept throwing glares at me. I smirked at them smugly. None of them could complain, seeing as I was the only one who killed an Autobot. _They're the ones who thought they could attack so many highly trained soldiers in such a confined space. 'specially the Twins, _I thought to myself amusedly. I ignored the slight twisting in my tanks, especially seeing as I got over it on my first organic kill. My musings and the others' sour glances were interrupted when Ugly came over with a stub for a hand. It seemed to be bandaged with a metal cast over top. _I never did learn his name, _I contemplated.

"Mechlings. Mech," he added with a gruff approving nod in my direction. This added the salt into the others' wounds. They growled lightly while I allowed a small smirk. He moved aside to allow us to see someone approaching. "May I introduce you all to Shockwave, our key scientist," he told dramatically, raising his hand to gesture towards him.

Switching my attention from him onto the newcomer, I saw someone large and purple stomp towards us. He had no mouth, and had only one ruby optic settled in between two large antennae-horns. Bigger than Soundwave, yet smaller than Megatron, he had some sort of long, spiky-looking cable that came out from behind his head and plugged in into the large cannon that seemed to have replaced his whole left forearm. A few spikes protruded from his back, and I noticed a couple of huge, sturdy wheels behind his ankles. I saw in the corners of my vision that the others immediately either bowed slightly in respect, or tense and shudder in repulsion. My tanks told me to be weary, and I studied him for a while longer before looking up to see his eye aimed at me.

"We leave for the tunnels," he stated calmly. He turned and started for the opening into the tunnels, and I stood and strode after him. Others either scrambled to catch up, or lagged behind in what I could only sense was fear and disgust. I stayed only a few steps back and to the right, my gaze always returning to Shockwave's back. This new authority figure had me immensely curious. Why did the others flinch back, or tremble? Why did the ones not trembling follow him in awed haste?

Frowning slightly at my thoughts, I followed him into the depths.


	8. Chapter 8

**Author's Note:**

**For the record, this 'trip' was supposed to be maybe only one Chapter… XD It just grabbed me by the horns and practically wrote itself. Whoa. I won't be inputting many Other P.O.V's, it's just because Prowl's not there. And as for the Coordinates hidden in here, they're real. They point to somewhere that's not overly populated. :P And believe it or not, Shockwave's one of the only Decepticons I don't like.**

**Thank you for the reviews, they help me focus on how to write, and the favourites and follows. And just plain reading my story ^_^**

**Enjoy~**

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><p><strong>Other P.O.V.<strong>

Grunting, I seethed at the peeled paint around my shoulder injury. My brother kept sending me soothing, promising feelings across our twin-bond. Sideswipe was gently cleaning my wounds, and soon Hoist would be tending to them – only after Mirage, though. We were most certainly not expecting those fraggers to find us, and we were definitely not expecting them to attack. Mirage had picked up a few faint energon signals, and we had waited in that ditch while me and my brother attempted to lure them out. It didn't work, which meant that these Decepticons were highly disciplined seeing as I would've shot if I were in their place. Or at least, tried to, if someone was holding me back.

One of the wreckers – _Bulkhead_, my brother reminded me – came over to look us over. He murmured something to Mirage, who nodded, and stood despite some of Hoist's protests. Sending that I was going after them, my brother and I stood and followed after. The others all rose and trotted after us, Hoist sighing. We had managed to limp our afts a short distance from where we were ambushed, and continued to zig-zag until we came into close proximity to one of the Wreckers' camps. We had waited, licking our wounds until Ultra Magnus and the others had made it to the small make-shift camp.

Entering it, we could smell something burning and I heard something crackle just as Sideswipe noticed that it was a campfire, with burning wood. While he studied it in his curiosity, I quickly took in my surroundings. There were eight Wreckers, including Bulkhead, and I saw Ultra Magnus standing off to one side examining a broken terminal. There was a Dark Olive green mech with a metallic goldenrod chassis standing next to him, studying the terminal with a bunch of wiring and a battery in his servos.

There were three others close by, pushing, shoving, and hurling insults at one another. They were red, blue, and green, but that was as far as I could tell with the amount of dirt, mud, and other most disgusting things smothering their paint. A forest Green mech with a cigar in his mouth was telling some odd story to the last two, gathered around the campfire. A filthy orange and ice blue mech was to his left, bouncing his knee impatiently. The other one, Bulkhead, sat down to listen as his duty was done.

Straightening, Ultra Magnus beckoned us over. Limping partially, Mirage ignored a hovering Hoist to stand beside the tall Wrecker leader. Scowling lightly, I followed my brother who strode ahead to stand beside Mirage.

"Soldiers. I presume you have met the Decepticon party that has left the main territory." A statement, more than a question. At Mirage's nod, he continued. "Then let us make this quick," he replied, before turning to the imported, old terminal. "Springer, do you mind telling the others what you are up to," he ordered. Springer, with his hands full of wiring, nodded at us.

"Yes sir. As you can tell, I'm doing my best to re-wire this baby. We found out that it has an old file on it, and hopefully we can get it running again to see what it is. And who knows," he added, looking up and smiling at us. "Maybe it'll give us some info on whatever the 'cons found." I crossed my arms in a huff. The Decepticons were closer to whatever it was they had found, and we were sitting here playing inventor? Sideswiped nudged my lightly. _~Relax, it could help us, _he sent over our bond. I relaxed slightly, but I didn't drop my scowl.

"We're going to need a few minutes to patch ourselves up a little more, and we have to figure out a plan on how to take them on. There's someone we haven't seen before, and he managed to do a number on the twins here," he stressed, before pointing over his shoulder. My scowl deepened, but he was right. AS much as I was itching to take him on again, we needed a plan to take them on, and my brother was more than willing to help with the making of it. Springer was now half-buried into the terminal, and Ultra Magnus frowned and nodded. There was a light murmuring behind us in the direction of the campfire.

"If we have not seen this mech before, than he is to be approached with caution. Is very rare that we encounter mechs that no one knows of," he agreed. Sighing slightly, he nodded for hoist to continue to repair Mirage – who had to sit down because of his injured leg. "It is almost certain that they have met up with Shockwave. It is only a matter of time before they find what they have been digging for. We need to know what it is, in order to figure out the best means of seizing it."

"Aha!" Came a shout, interrupting whatever it was Ultra Magnus was going to say. It was muffled, and it came in the direction of the terminal. His face grim, Ultra Magnus turned to Springer.

"What is it, soldier?" he questioned. Springer popped back up, with two cables and a smile.

"I got it in order! All we need to do is plug these two babies in," he waggled the two cables in his hands. "…And we should be able to see what the info is!" Suddenly there was a cluster of Wreckers around and behind us, Springer's grabbing their attention.

"Well, what are we waiting for, then! Let's see what it is," exclaimed an eager Bulkhead. Ultra Magnus jerked his head toward Whirl.

"Whirl. Plug yourself in and record whatever information is on this terminal." Bouncing, Whirl complied, and plugged himself in. Wasn't he worried about any viruses? Once he was settled, Ultra Magnus nodded for Springer to continue. Grinning, he plugged the two cables in, and stood back a step to watch the sputtering, some-what sparking terminal. Finally, the terminal came to life, whirring and groaning with age. A holographic video screen popped up. We all crowded around to hear see and hear the fizzy lettering.

_{Attention all Neutrals; I repeat, Attention all Neutrals;}_

_{The Fauna is growing in at a fast pace, and the war between Autobots and Decepticons is becoming more and more destructive. Neutrals are dying, and becoming assimilated into faction ranks. This war has gotten out of hand.}_

_{Any Neutrals wanting to stay out of this war, there is a place for you. NO leaders, NO ranks, NO fighting. We are in a secluded area off into the fauna, and we encourage you to join. We will adapt to this new landscape.}_

_{The coordinates are 58'29'10.01' North, by 123'13'15.228' West.}_

_{Sparklings and Younglings are encouraged, and we have the proper care for them. Let us preserve our race.}_

**_-/-_**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

The tunnels were dark, and I had to switch a few settings in my visor in order to see clearly. The others, not having this luxury, stumbled behind with muttered curses under their breaths. I smirked slightly, and kept pace behind Shockwave. They only mechs that dared to get close to me or Shockwave was Ugly and the older mech I had talked to earlier. Ugly kept pace with me, glancing occasionally at the now rock walls. I could hear the older mech's pede-falls lightly behind me. He walked with a slight limp, possibly due to an older injury. We walked in silence for a few minutes, until we came across the noises of soldiers digging, removing heavy rock coming from the side of the rock tunnel. Looking closely at the mech-made side tunnel, I could see that the rock had merged with some of the remaining metal. It gave the walls a slight shimmering appearance, albeit jagged from the digging.

"The miners sent here are very close to finding the mystery item with the unique signals my instruments have picked up. The approximate time of unearthing with be within the half-hour," he explained. He turned around to face us. "You are to wait here to ensure no one gets in. I will get you when we have unearthed this phenomenon." And with this, he turned back and walked into the long, dark tunnel.

The others all grumbled, and moved further inside the tunnel complaining about being rock-sitters. The older mech and Ugly stayed with me, each taking a spot beside the wall. I crouched overtop of an old slab of rocky metal, my silver sort-of camouflaging into it. After a few minutes of shifting around uncomfortably, digging my claws into some of the loose, sparse dirt, the older mech spoke up.

"Y'know what Shocky there's known for, young one?"

Curious, I sat up and sat on the hard ground. Frowning, I tilted my head before shaking it. He made a 'tsk' sound, before sliding closer to me. Ugly kept lookout behind us for anyone approaching, especially Shockwave.

"He's known for torturing people and using them in odd experiments. He's all about science, and if the rules don't hold him back, if he's interested he'll do whatever he can to figure out all about that interesting thing." My tanks twisted in disgust, but I swallowed and gestured for him to continue.

"Lately, he likes to dabble into organic material. He's grabbed some poor unfortunate soldiers – regardless of faction, by the way – and he injects organic things in them. Lately, he unleashed some beetle-mech on the Wreckers. Plain gross," he scoffed. Sure sounded gross. I shook my head before raising my hands.

"Ah can agree wit ya there, mech," I replied honestly. Ugly started lightly on my accent, and the older mech simply snorted. They didn't say anything else.

Rubbing my hands on my knees, I listened to the slight dripping of water hitting rock, and the slowed screeching of the digging behind us. Back to silence. I sighed lightly, wishing to move again. The halting of the digging noises couldn't come soon enough, and I stood when they had stopped for more than fifteen seconds. The others swiftly trotted back, looking slightly alarmed.

Just then, I heard Shockwave's heavy pede-falls and sure enough he walked out of the darkness that were the tunnels. He came to a stop a few feet away, glancing briefly at the mechs that had just came back. Looking at me and Ugly, he nodded.

"It is time." That was all he said before turning and going back in the direction he'd just come from. With the older mech frowning at Ugly, we stepped forward and walked after him. I was in the rear, right behind them. They were leaning towards each other, murmuring softly. I averted my gaze to the rocks around us. They were quite interesting, and they had a unique look to them. Someone lazily kicked a rock up ahead, and it caught my attention.

It had stopped at a protruding stalagmite, before cracking almost perfectly in half. When I came to pass it, I glanced quickly at the others. They weren't bothered with me, and so I swooped down and collected both pieces in my hands. I gave them a brief once-over. They were rock, but also metal – shimmering lightly like the rock walls were. However, when I turned to the inside, I was surprised. There were small crystals growing in the centre, with purple hues. Pleased with my discovery, I swiftly yet carefully stowed them into my subspace.

Just then, the tunnel had seemed to stop, and we came to a halt before Shockwave. He was taking some equipment from one of the miners, before turning and ducking through a hole in the rock face that had been previously blocked from our vison by his body.

Glancing at the others, who seemed either curious or bored, I stepped ahead and quickly ducked through the hole. There was about a foot of rock thick surrounding the hole, but it opened up to a natural cavern. I stepped aside to let the others pile through, eager to move in now that I had went first.

There were miners swarming everywhere, with large and powerful lights swimming across the cavern. Nearby stood many stalagmites, making the cavern to appear monstrous with large fangs. There was a large engine looking thing with many pipes, and Shockwave stood before it with a scanning device. The pipes lead to somewhere up above the ceiling, so perhaps it was once connected to the ruined city.

"These energy signatures are unlike normal readings," Shockwave observed. He turned, looking at me as I was the only one nearby paying him any attention. "This is a power source. If the readings are abnormal, than the logical explanation is that this device contains some sort of energy that we have had yet to encounter." Frowning, I tilted my head to look up at it. The machine was dirty with soil and rock, but appeared to be from dark paint nonetheless. Despite my discipline, I spoke my mind without thinking.

"So if we haven't used this energy, then wha' does it mean?" He paused for a moment, before dipping his head slightly.

"A reasonable question. There are two possible outcomes. The first," He gestured to the dirt and grime attached to the pipes, "Is that this has been unused due to unfavourable effects; such as toxic or explosive outcomes. The second would naturally be that this energy is, in fact, usable."

I nodded back at him, and he turned around. "I will now attempt to bring the machine online. I would advise you to stand back," he instructed over his shoulder. I turned and leapt up a few rock outcroppings until I was at the far wall a distance above the others' heads. I busied myself with overlooking the damp, dark cavern while he fiddled with the different controls on the machine's console.

After a few moments of silence, there was a loud creaking noise, followed by something lurching. I ducked beneath a rock, just as there was a loud thumping sound. When nothing happened, I peeked overtop of the rock, and saw that the console was lit, and so I flipped over the rock and slid down the side of the rock face. The others had yet to stand up, as they too were alarmed, however Shockwave had started to busy himself with typing into the system. Once I got near, I was able to see that the continuous thumping sound was a large blade in the middle of the engine rotating, acting as a fan. The diagram was changing as he focused on the smaller details, skimming through while downloading its contents into a microchip.

Curious as always, I crept a little closer, keeping off to one side as to allow him his privacy. He noticed my movement, however didn't speak about it. His fingers were almost a blur, and his head was always moving, his one optic glued to the screen. I noticed something to the side, tucked away in a small corner. Taking a closer look, it was a smaller, handwritten file. Glancing back at Shockwave, I nodded in its direction once he had calmed a little. Studying me for a moment, he noticed it also and opened it. Its popup took over the majority of the screen, and on it was a hand-scribbled formula with a few side notes along the margin. Shockwave studied it for a moment, before noticing a few compounds that he recognized. His one optic widened, and he quickly downloaded the information to his own drives. Curious, I shifted from pede to pede, and chewed my inner cheek.

"What is it?" I had blurted it out before I could control my tongue. He nodded, and ran a digit along a piece of the formula, almost as if he was enthralled by it.

"Fascinating. This formula is what created the energy stored inside this machine," he glanced quickly at me before taking it apart to see the smaller molecular compounds. "If I do some more research, I will be able to apply this formula to our own energy sources. If I do this, than our energy consumption rate will be only a mere fraction of what it is now, with higher performance rates."

**- / -**

It had taken a couple of hours for Shockwave to dismiss us, and yet even then we still couldn't pry him from his discovery. We were to split up into teams with the exception of me to scour the tunnels and ensure that no one disturbed Shockwave's work as he finished up. _Ah wouldn't be surprised if it took at least another hour of 'im 'finishing up', _I thought tiredly to myself. Sighing softly, I rounded the corner and walked past the side tunnel that led to him.

Pausing, a familiar scent wafted across my olfactory sensor. Looking around, I saw nothing, and letting whoever it was nearby thinking that I was forgetting about it, I continued my trek away from the dig site. I dimmed my visor, and increased the sensitivity on my audio horns. The scent grew stronger, and sure enough I heard a small shuffle to my left. Reacting purely on instinct, my claws shot out at the same time as my arm, and although I could still not see anything, my claws dug into metal. There was a grunt of pain, and an Autobot flickered into existence. Looking up from his pinned, already damaged leg, I met his shocked optics. _Mirage, _I growled to myself, and before he could call for back up or bring out a weapon, my right fist balled up and I uppercut him – hard.

My uppercut was successful, and his head knocked hard onto the metal and rock behind him. It was effective, and he was knocked unconscious. Sighing, I looked down at the Autobot. _Now what, _I wondered.

"Impressive."

Spinning around, surprised, I took in the sight of Shockwave. Although his voice slightly indicated that he was impressed, his face held no emotion. He started walking towards me, and stopped a mere foot away, before looking down at the motionless Autobot.

"Mirage is not easily captured, as he is rarely spotted or heard," he explained. He lifted his eye to me. "How did you spot him?" his proximity made my tanks uneasy, but I was a little proud for my accomplishment.

"Ah have really sensitive receptors – mainly mah olfactory and mah audio horns. Ah smelled 'im before Ah heard 'im," I confessed. He nodded, before turning back to the prone Autobot.

"As a scientist, I must confess that your sensitivity heightens my interest. I am curious to know if you were born with a mutated genome in which this sensitivity was heightened." I looked at him quizzically, before shaking my head.

"Nah. My sensitivity is 'cause my sight got impaired when Ah was lil'. Mah other senses heightened ta compensate," I explained, pointing to my visor. From what I've just heard, it was best to just buck up and confess to Shockwave, lest you are found underneath his scalpel. Looking at my visor, he seemed to pause.

"That is… Logical." He nodded, and he turned to bend down and grab Mirage's arms, and bound them with a pair of stasis cuffs. Just then, Ugly and the older mech came around the same bend that I'd come from, and their faces blinked in confusion before gaping slightly in surprise at the captured Autobot. Shockwave turned to them, before gesturing at the Autobot Mirage.

"Pick up this Autobot prisoner – he comes with us. Our priority is to get this formula back safely to the Decepticon army. Let us travel to Megatron."


	9. Chapter 9

**Author's Note:**

Sorry it's been so long folks! I have Social Studies, Psychology (I'm a Smokey ^_^), and English so there's much writing to do. Not to mention I've also had a tiffy with my parents. And four days of work. And I'm getting sick. Ugh. I'll do my best to post something at _least _once a week :)

Now to the good part. Enjoy~

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><p><strong>Prowl's P.O.V.<strong>

Stretching my stiff wings, I checked my internal fuel levels. They were low, at 13.86%. I then checked my chronometer – 04:17 am. Sighing, I stood, swaying slightly. It had been a few days since the Autobot party had left for Tarn, and I had spent another all-nighter doing work. Surely, we would hear from them sometime soon, and I wanted everything caught up and in order when they returned. Walking groggily towards the rec room to get my share of Energon, I stumbled through the empty hallways, barely encountering anyone as this was the night shift. At 10%, my systems would force a shutdown, and that would cause an unnecessary trip to Ratchet.

I arrived at the Rec. room, and it was empty. Just how I liked it. I quickly drew out a cube of energon, and flopped down onto one of the chairs. Raising it to my lips, I downed it as quickly as I dared before it would upset my tanks. I took a few deep breaths, and I checked my internal fuel levels once more. They had upped to 67.39%. Sighing slightly to myself, I nodded. It would have to do. Just then, the door to the rec room slid open, and I turned to see whom it was.

There was a party of three, one winged while the other two identical. I could feel my wings perk up slightly despite my attempt to keep them in position. Frowning, I noticed that Sunstreaker was limping a bit, while rolling a stiff shoulder. As he stormed to the energon dispenser, I could hear him growling lightly. Sideswipe was by my shoulder a second later, giving me a tired 'I'll fill you in later' look. I nodded my understanding to him and when he looked over to his brother, my gaze followed suit and I noticed two very deep slashes on the back of his left shoulder. His paint was marred and it was peeling, which was most likely one of the main reasons why he was so upset.

Smokescreen, the other mech in the party to leave and only Psychologist on the base, sat down beside me with a tired grunt. He nodded at me and raised his energon cube at me, before taking a long swig. I noticed that he had moderate gashes on his chest, and had a piece of his wing missing. My wings twitched in sympathy at the sight, as my wings were like his. Praxian doorwings, I heard, were very sensitive and only less sensitive then seeker wings. Sunstreaker stormed out, his brother following closely behind him. I turned to Smokescreen only for him to give me a stern, knowing look.

"Shouldn't you be sleeping…?" I opened my mouth to protest, but giving how late or early it was, I closed my mouth and sighed. I wouldn't have won anyway, Smokescreen knew me too well and he was the psychologist after all. Tilting my head in his direction, I stood and left for my quarters.

**- / -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I stood next to Shockwave in the throne room, my chin held high as Shockwave told our Lord what had happened. Starscream was on my right, closer to Shockwave. He seemed bored, always fidgeting and checking out his claws. Soundwave, closer to me and on Megatron's right, stood at attention as still as a statue. I wouldn't be surprised if he was picking apart every detail in his head. Megatron seemed bored himself, however leaned forward in interest once Shockwave mentioned the formula and the captured Autobot. After nodding and agreeing with Shockwave about testing the formula on small batteries of our current energy, he demanded that the Autobot prisoner be brought in. Ugly and the older soldier came in at Shockwave's comm, towing a groggy Mirage in between them. It had been decided that it was best if he remained unconscious at all times, as it would hold the location of our base a secret and have him disoriented once he woke. They came up next to me on my left, and Ugly nodded to me in respect before bowing with the other soldier towards our Lord.

Megatron rose, and thundered down the steps of his throne. Starscream grew wary and moved aside more, however Soundwave marched forward, always a step next to and behind our leader. My tanks squirmed, and I forced myself to bow my head and advert my gaze. I clenched my denta together, growing more uneasy as he neared. He stopped a couple of feet before us, and I stayed my gaze on his large silver pedes. Luckily, he was more interested in the prisoner, and spoke for the other two to rise and tell him about the capture. Ugly stammered slightly, before the older soldier spoke up for him.

"We didn't capture him, my lord. Jazz did," he spoke sturdily, voice low. He nodded in my direction, and Megatron's gaze swung to me. I raised my head, jaw still clenched, and met his scarlet optics. He studied me for a moment more, before grunting softly.

"Then you take your prisoner to the dungeons. Soundwave," he growled turning to Soundwave as he stepped forward. "You are to interrogate him. I want information." Soundwave nodded.

"Yes, My Lord." Nodding, he jerked his head in my direction, before striding off back to his throne. Soundwave took the left arm of the prisoner, and Ugly offered me the right arm. Nodding and taking it, I noticed that Shockwave had been watching with eerie precision, his one optic never leaving until Megatron had sat and asked for him to continue. I tuned out the rest of the conversation, as me and Soundwave made our way to the dungeons.

We were only halfway there when he released all of his deployers.

**- / -**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

I woke up to a message flashing across my vision, stating that there was a mandatory meeting in a few minutes. Sucking in a deep gulp of air, I sat upwards and checked my chronometer. 11:26 am. Cursing lightly under my breath, I swung my pedes over the edge of my berth and stood. I had overslept, and I had reports to fill in. Sighing, I left my sparse quarters and headed to the Rec room for a cube of energon before heading to the meeting. There were a few people in small groups, chatting animatedly, although quieting their conversations when I passed. Ignoring this, I grabbed my cube and stowed it away before turning and heading out. I nearly collided with Smokescreen, who seemed battered and groggy himself, before we nodded at one another and fell into step along the way to the meeting. It appeared that he had little sleep himself.

It was silent the whole way, as he had just woken and I was not fond of talking. We entered last, with the exception of the twins screeching around the corner behind us. Smokescreen entered, and I stood to hold the door for them. This meeting was requiring all the officers, even Smokescreen, Inferno, and Sunstreaker. They nodded their thanks, breathless, and I closed the door just as the clock hit 11:30am. The twins, in turn for holding the door open for them, saved me a seat beside them and across from Smokescreen. Grateful, I dipped my wings in thanks and sat down. Blaster, sitting beside Smokescreen, handed him a cube of energon. Ratchet, to my right, seemed irritated, and crossed his arms in a huff. Looking around the table, I noticed that Mirage was missing. _Odd, _I wondered. Optimus, seeing that we were all here, dropped his datapad on the far end of the table as to start the meeting.

"Thank you all for coming. If you have all not noticed already, the party that had left for Tarn has returned, and with grave news. Smokescreen, if you will fill in please?" Choking slightly on his energon, he set it down and nodded while he cleared his throat.

"Ah, yes. Well, to be brief, we encountered the Decepticon party headed to Shockwave and were ambushed by them. We fought, before Mirage took off the hand of their so-called leader, and they left. We met up with Ultra Magnus and intercepted a transmission before sending Mirage to scout the item of interest. He never returned," he added softly, saddened at the thought. Ironhide snorted slightly, before raising his hands.

"Whoa, hey, slow down a bit. What transmission?" Ratchet and Wheeljack hummed in agreement, and Red Alert shook his head.

"Start from the beginning. Details, details!" Smokescreen and Optimus both sighed softly. Sideswipe ended up talking about the trip and the ambush, before an impatient Sunstreaker interrupted his own twin.

"They had a new mech there. I noticed him just as he killed Seaspray." There was a light gasp in the room, and Optimus' eyebrows raised. He then grabbed a chair, and sat down.

"We can morn him later. At the moment, Sunstreaker, could you please tell us about this new mech?" Sunstreaker looked to his brother, who nodded solemnly at him. My tanks twitched slightly in dread for what was to happen. The only mech I knew that had not been seen anywhere… Was he the same mech that had killed Seaspray? _Surely, he couldn't… _Sunstreaker took in a breath to calm himself, and he started.

"Well, he was either sneaky or fast or both. He wasn't with the others when they started the ambush." _Please, do not let it be Jazz. _"I've never seen him before, and me and Sideswipe are in almost all the battles," he remarked, glancing proudly at his twin. _No, no… Not Jazz… _Sideswipe took over the attention.

"He was small, and silver-" _No, no no no…. _"With a red visor and audio horns." _Primus…. No… _Optimus spared me a quick glance before returning his focus on the twins. "He also had pretty damn sharp claws, and long wicked daggers," he exclaimed, acting with slight dramatization. I could feel my wings freezing in place. _The description fits Jazz without any doubt. _Fear, horror, and unknowingly worry gnawed on my circuits. What if the others somehow learned that I had talked, confessed, and even _fancied _this murderer without even attempting to do anything another Autobot would do? I could've injured him, or killed him. I could've set a tracker on him to find the Decepticon base, or grilled him for information – which I was normally good at. Frowning slightly while the others gasped and murmured, I shoved these emotions down and set my face into smooth stone. I forced my wings to lower, and I listened to the Twins' glorified battle with him. I made sure to take mental notes of every move Jazz made, as well as note what the others seemed to think. I could not, however, ignore the occasional piercing glances sent my way by my father.

They finished once their story selves made it to the Wrecker camp, and they waited for any signs of continuation. There was a few moments of silence with the others taking this in, some murmuring very quietly, others sharing concerned looks. Optimus stayed silent, still, his optics glued to my frame. I attempted to ignore him, and instead stared impassively at the Twins. Sideswipe seemed to notice the attention I was receiving from Optimus, and I twitched my wings gently. Optimus, seeing movement out of me, turned his attention to the Twins who were now looking at him, and leaned back. Sighing, he waved a hand.

"We will file this newly found mech into our files. Smokescreen, were you saying something before about a transmission?" Eager to shift the attention away from bad news, Smokescreen talked about how the Wreckers had found a console that they were repairing when they walked into their camp.

"How old was the console?" inquired Perceptor, curious. Smokescreen thought a moment.

"The console was old, but not ancient. The transmission was from Early War, set to a while before we had to abandon our cities for forests." More whispers drifted across the room. Optimus leaned forward, his interest taken.

"Smokescreen. What did the transmission say?" Smokescreen nodded to himself, before taking out a datapad.

"It was mentioning a Neutral camp, at these coordinates," he explained, before sliding the datapad in Optimus' direction. "It was encouraging 'bots to join, especially those with sparklings or younglings."

A gasp came in the direction of Blaster, and a sharp intake of breath could be heard from Ratchet. "Sparklings? Younglings? You mean, there is the potential for our race to be growing outside of this war?" he shook his head in disbelief. "There's been almost zero sparklings since the war started in the cities! Only you, Prowl." Heads swivelled in my direction, and I tiled my head at him, asking for him to explain. Ratchet turned to Optimus. "There hasn't been, since Sparklings were either recruited into Decepticon ranks and dying from the excessive torture they put them through, or targeted and killed." His words grew softer and quieter, before the last word was barely a whisper. The others all lowered their heads, mourning the lost lives of the most innocent. My wings drooped an inch, my code immediately mournful and angered by the actions of the Decepticons.

However, at the mention of abused sparklings, my thoughts drifted to when I met Jazz by the river, and again in the clearing. He had many scars and injuries, mostly on the back and shoulders, however they were also scattered across his entire frame. Then I thought of how he had never heard of music before, and how vulnerable he looked when he danced for what appeared to be the first time in his life. He looked older than me, yes, however not by much once he dropped his tough appearance. _Just like me and my emotionless walls, _I mused to myself. _Perhaps he is considered new, because he was too young to be in battles, like I was. _I shook my head. As plausible as it was, it was only one option. Another could be of him simply showing interest in me, and trying his best not to scare me off. Regardless of the possibilities, my spark beat increased slightly at the thought of him being interested in me. I sighed slightly, grateful for Optimus' speaking.

"It is imperative that we keep this information from the Decepticons. It is also of grave importance that we do not engage them for our own purposes in this war." At this, Ironhide straightened.

"Y'mean not recruit them? Are you kidding!? We're losing this war, and if the 'Cons succeed, they'll take over this whole planet, Neutrals or not!" Ratchet sputtered at the bold statement from Ironhide, before Wheeljack beat him to it.

"Ironhide, these people want nothing to do with war, and not to mention that they'll have sparklings and youngling there too young to even witness such things," he stressed, his fins flashing different colours. Ironhide snorted.

"And? Prowl was a sparkling, and yet he's old 'nough!" I frowned and was about to join the argument, however Optimus spoke before anyone else could.

"Enough!"

We all hushed immediately, as it was rare that Optimus would ever raise his voice. Once the room was quiet enough to hear a pin drop, he sighed and leaned back before rubbing the bridge of his olfactory sensor.

"Wheeljack is right, Ironhide. Although it is unlikely that there have been any sparklings since the war, it could be a possibility with neutrals outside of the war. That being said," he stressed, looking every one of us dead in the optics, "They are to be left alone. I would rather the survival of our race than to use innocent lives in such a horrid war."

Ironhide ducked his helm slightly, embarrassed. Ratchet and Wheeljack calmed, and the others shifted, their faces somberly. I lowered my wings out of the slight aggressive stance, nodding once. It was quiet for what seemed to be minutes, however only half of a minute had passed. Optimus sighed, before looking at Smokescreen.

"Is there anything else to mention?" Smokescreen shook his head, still quiet.

"Only that Mirage was captured. And…" he chewed his lip slightly, before softly scolding himself of his nervous habit. Optimus raised an optic ridge at him.

"Mirage had a copy of the transmission."

**- / -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I dragged the unconscious Autobot through the halls toward the dungeon, Soundwave silent beside me. My tanks squirmed uncomfortably. It wasn't often that Soundwave released all of his deployers. The only times he did so was if they would possibly cause trouble where they wouldn't be needed, or if he didn't want them witnessing something. The one time I could remember the latter was when Megatron had punished him for something, and I had hugged and hid with them, comforting them. Here, they could be used to help interrogate the prisoner. That left me confused as to why Soundwave would order them to go to his quarters, as well as my tanks to churn nervously. I swallowed thickly when we entered the dungeon hall, low into the metallic rock and dim without lighting.

I turned my attention to his face, studying him intensely, my lips pursed. Normally, he would sense this attention and speak. He did no such thing. Instead, he kept his face straight, his face masked with no trace of emotion whatsoever. I studied him for a moment longer, full aware that he knew I was looking at him. Frowning as we turned a corner, I averted my gaze elsewhere. We were coming up to the bot's cell, and I couldn't help but look down. I was glad I did, because I noticed that he was awake, but either faking it or struggling to open his optics.

We reached his cell, and the guards already placed there opened the door for us. We dragged a now weakly-struggling Autobot into the cell, clutching harder onto his arm. Seeing as his optics were still not online, the clever fellow had heard the door opening and had assumed correctly that he was going to be detained. I held onto him, my claws digging in under his armor from his struggles. He did not flinch, but continued to at least try and escape. Soundwave had grabbed the chains attached to the wall, and lowered two shackles for his arms. Once he had firmly secured one on the prisoner's wrist, if it were possible, he flailed even more. _Feisty fellow ain't he,_ I thought. Just then he twisted around and managed to give my knee a hard kick.

Grunting, I shifted my body weight closer to him and pulled his arm up tight against my armpit. He attempted a tug on his arm, before his optics finally onlined. His body was facing me, so of course he saw me first. He paused, along with me, and we took a second to take each other in. He was mainly white and blue with some black, and had wheels behind his shoulders. His blue optics were searching my face, and although he tried to keep emotion off of his face he wasn't no Prowl. His eyes shone with astonishment.

Soundwave, being efficient as always, took this pause to slap on the other shackle, causing Mirage to spin and face him. I was expecting something like anger, and I was correct on that, for he was furious. However, I also didn't expect the other expression settled deep into his optics and in his body language. I wasn't expecting such great fear. In his defense, he tried to hide it by squirming more, face angered. Soundwave turned to adjust the chains, so that they would pull him up against the wall, but before he could do that Mirage's arm broke free of my grasp. Before I could react, his fist had balled up and he was decking Soundwave out cold. It it weren't for his sudden freezing, before falling to the ground just short of Soundwave with his hands to his helm.

Surprised, I blinked, only for Soundwave to step aside as the chains pulled the grunting Autobot to the wall, spinning him so that he faced us, dangling a foot off of the ground. My vision was blocked by Soundwave's back.

"Go." The only words he'd said to me since I came back. I opened my mouth to protest, but he turned his head slightly to look at me over his shoulder. "Now." His voice sounded slightly annoyed, a feat for Soundwave. I looked up at Mirage, studying our exchange with an odd look on his face. Sighing, I turned and left, growling slightly at the guards. They ignored my grumpiness, and instead shut the door behind me. I walked ahead a few steps before someone shouted. It was the Autobot.

"Get outta my head, creep!"

I froze a moment, before picking up the pace and turning the corner. I wasn't fast enough, however, to hear loud screaming behind me. Shuddering, I broke into a trot, attempting to block out the sounds. I heard screaming mixed with shouting, and I assumed that this mech was trying to hold onto at least a shred of his dignity. My tanks roiled uncomfortably, and I breathed a small sigh of relief once I was out of the dungeons. Never in my whole life had I seen Soundwave use his telepathy for anything this violent. I frowned, and finally I understood why Soundwave had made all of his deployers go to his quarters. It made me uneasy, and I shook my head. He was a Decepticon for more than shuffling data pads around, after all.

Looking at my messages, I noticed I was on leave for the rest of the day. Sighing, I was going to wander the halls to find something to do when a ping hit my com link.

_-Care to meet at the bear-cliff?-_


	10. Chapter 10

**Author's Note:**

Happy Late Valentine's Day! Sorry about any delays, I got sick and worked five days straight after two tests and an at-home-essay. You'd be amazed at how fast time can fly. Urg.

Without further ado, Thank You, my beloved fans, for reading and reviewing ^_^

Enjoy~

* * *

><p><strong>P<strong>**rowl's P.O.V.**

I sucked in a nervous breath at the sound of a responding ping. _He responded_, I thought to myself. I do not know what I had been thinking. The meeting had been finished and we all dispersed to do our duties. I would be doing mine now, if it weren't for Ratchet's keen optics. He figured out that I hadn't necessarily been taking care of myself and at my protests he had talked to Optimus, who then had pardoned me himself. Shaking my head, I wasted no more time to check my ping.

_-When?-_

My spark fluttered lightly, and I pushed the sensation to the back of my mind. _I am to meet him for information only_, I scolded myself for the 19th time. Once I was unable to work, I had come here to my quarters, and as I had nothing to do my thoughts drifted back to Jazz. He had seemed alright, deprived of some things even, however he had killed Seaspray without hesitation. I exited out of my quarters into the halls, before checking my chronometer. It was currently 1:17pm, and I took 32.78min to walk there. Satisfied with this simple fact, I pinged him back.

-_40 minutes?-_

Was he even the same mech? Or was he attempting to try something, to lure me into something? My processor was directing facts to conclude that, as a Decepticon, the natural thing to do would be to deceive me. Despite this, my tanks and spark argued against this. I've never felt such conflicting emotions. I shook my head, passing through another archway in the base, twisting around a corner to head for a less conspicuous exit. Another fact would be that he would either be late, debate or sneer at the time, or not show at all. Decepticons only followed commands of those with their respect, and never one of an Autobot's. My spark twitched uncomfortably at the thought of him not showing. Another ping. I opened it without hesitation.

_-Done-_

This nearly caused me to stall, before I forced my pedes to move once more. I would see if he would show once I got there, however something told me he would. I set a soft timer for 40 minutes, and was about to turn around another bend before I halted completely. I heard Optimus talking. I looked around, searching for a hiding spot, however I was no Jazz so I had to make do with flattening myself against the wall. Inching forward, I dared to poke my helm out slightly to spy on my own father. He was stationary and speaking with the twins, of whom still appeared to be battered. I strained my audio receptors to hear better.

"… Reason to believe that he will try to exit the base at one point, for I have Ironhide telling me that he has been seen coming in from outside when off duty." My spark thudded hard in my chest. Was he telling them to spy on me, or prevent me from leaving? I ducked back slightly, keeping the side of my face pointed in their direction. _Obviously he now knows of the reappearance of Jazz, and he must have put the two and two together of why I was leaving. _My tanks squirmed slightly in guilt – a feeling I haven't gotten since I stole a candy without permission from the candy jar as a youngling. _What I am doing is strictly forbidden, _I scolded myself, although I couldn't help but shake it off. This meeting could be used for information, I could help the other Autobots. I just had to make it to meet him.

"Alright, alright, we'll watch the doors. Just let Sunny fix himself up before he attacks somebody," Sideswipe chuckled, earning a sour glare from his twin. _Good, _I thought to myself. _A normal touch-up of this extent from Sunstreaker takes about 1-2 hours. _I turned my face slightly to watch a hesitant Optimus, before he sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Quickly. For agreeing to this, you'll have a slightly less workload, and a schedule that I myself will be making – Prowl can't know of this." _He already does, _I thought with a tad of dry humor. Sideswipe, to his credit, looked uneasy but nodded anyway before throwing an arm around his brother's shoulders.

"C'mon bro, let's get you looking new again." Glowering, Sunstreaker allowed his brother to lead him down another hallway, before Optimus sighed and rubbed his face in a rare show of openness. He seemed tired, however he hardened himself back into his formal self. He tilted his head slightly, and I tucked my head back around the corner. I could feel his heavy pede-steps leading down the hallway opposite of where the twins had left with the sensors on my wings, and I relaxed minutely. Sighing, I checked my timer. I had 35min left, and still had yet to exit the base.

Frowning, as I did not like to be late, I turned around the corner to head for the exit while thinking of possible ways to sneak back into the base.

**- / -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I stretched my arms over my head as I approached the site where I had first seen the beautiful mech that was Prowl. A smirk played on my lips, and my sharp denta poked through to taste the air. Just the thought of him sent shivers of energy racing through my circuits. _Hence why I couldn't think of 'im of late, _I chuckled to myself. If Soundwave could read my thoughts, and Shockwave could dissect one with a mere look, I would have to be very careful that I didn't appear out of place. If I did, then they would investigate, and I would be nothing better than a pile of scrap metal. I glanced almost carelessly at the picked-clean bone half buried in the soil, the only remainder of the bear. _Can't believe ah'm darin' to do something so… forbidden, _I thought, although I couldn't bring myself to care. The feeling I got around him…

A tremor of excitement shot through me, and next thing I knew I was in a tree at a fair height, swinging around the trunk like a leaf in a strong circular wind. I breathed out a silent howl, closing my optics under my visor and sniffing the air. I smelled pine, dew, rot, calming me. I also smelled something familiar, yet tantalizing. I onlined my visor and smiled softly, knowing who it was. Warmth grew in my chest as I spotted two black and white wings, bouncing slightly in the wind. A mischievous feeling wormed its way through me as I saw him enter the clearing, looking around with an unreadable expression. I watched him with that playful smirk, noting every move, every twitch. He seemed to grow restless, and that was when I decided to make my move. Slow, cautious, I stalked forward on my branch, moving until I found a clear space in the air in between me and just an inch behind him. I launched myself then, slicing through the air and tilting myself so that I managed to flip over to my feet.

I landed smoothly, quiet as a cat, and froze. In the corner of my vision I could see his wings twitch slightly, however all he did was turn to see the now barely waving branch that I was on. Smiling in victory, I straightened and turned to find myself in between his two wings. Prowl shifted his weight, before scanning the base of the tree, falsely assuming that I had just dropped down. My grin widening, I slowly inched forward, however my shoulder brushed gently against his right wing. He tensed immediately, and before he could spin and attack me, I rushed forward and wrapped my arms around him. I was hoping to stay quiet, mysterious, and even imposing, however I couldn't hold back a breathless laugh, holding on tight to the alarmed Autobot. He tried to turn around, and almost seemed to flail, however I brought my face even closer to the back of his helm, taking in that sweet, dusty scent. His warm neck seemed to beckon to me, and his whole body was warm against mine. Ignoring my body's response to his, I grinned.

"Guess who..?" I laughed breathlessly. I was not expecting, however, an almost silent growl. Before I could react to it, a sharp pain flared in an old scab just under my chassis, and I grunted, letting go of him. Something swept my legs out from underneath me, and I landed hard on my aft as the unimpressed Prowl spun around.

"Never sneak up behind a mech with wings," he warned, his tone low. I couldn't help but admire this behaviour, chuckling. He didn't move, and judging by the height of his flared wings I assumed they were in an aggressive position. I raised my hands up, open in surrender.

"Alright, alright," I chuckled lightly. So it appeared that he was a good fighter, and a keen observer. _Ah like,_ I hummed to myself. I didn't move from my position on the ground, and he seemed to relax a little, his wings dropping down into his tight 'V'. I tilted my head in curiosity, a smile still lingering on my lips.

"Well? Any… _particular_ reason ta callin' meh?" I smirked, stressing the one word suggestively. I crossed my legs, however, before waggling my eyebrows. This caught his attention, and I spotted a small frown before he had to quickly glance away, coughing lightly, embarrassed. I noticed that his wings had tensed with the rest of his body, before moving slightly closer together. _Interesting, _I mused. They moved apart but remained tense, before he turned slightly to face me offhandedly.

"What happened in Tarn?" I dropped my smirk, and stared at him, silent. Was this what he'd called me for? Information? My spark sank low, and a slight pain emanated from it. When he got no answer, he turned around fully to face me again. I stared at him impassively, and he stared back with cold optics. We stared at each other for a few moments, before I broke contact and stood up. I could feel his stare pierce my armor, and I gave him the cold shoulder, dusting my legs off. It took a few moments for him to realize that I wasn't going to answer, and he sighed.

"You attacked two of my only friends, Jazz." I growled lightly, and stood up to my full height and faced him.

"What'd ya expect!? We're on opposite side 'ere, mech!" I barked, causing him to flinch. I stalked up to him, unsheathing my claws to their full length, tapping one against the center of his chest before he could move. As a result, he tensed so bad he could've shot an arrow. Even though my finger tip was just touching him, I could feel his spark racing under his armor, making my spark beat harder in response. It calmed me, despite my anger, and I drew back, sheathing my claws back to their short, harmless length. I huffed, crossed my arms, and glared crossly at an innocent tree a few yards away. I did my best to ignore the fact that our bodies were maybe a foot away from each other. After a few moments, he spoke.

"Then why did you not flay me, right then?" _Just ignore 'im Jazz. _I could hear his pedes shuffling, before he moved an inch closer. His vents stuttered softly, tearing down my defenses. I chewed my lip with my sharp denta, and I couldn't help but think of what it would feel like to get his on mine… _No, stop it, _I scolded myself, shaking my head harshly. Just then I remembered that I was to never expose my back to anyone, and I turned to face him, pressing my lips together. His face was calm, although I could see his cautiousness in his optics. Instead of answering that tricky question, I decided to redirect it towards him.

"Ya didn't answer mah question," I breathed, taking in a sigh to calm myself. There was almost no need, as for when he tilted his head for me to explain I caught a whiff of his scent. I dropped my arms, and looked somewhere off to the left before looking at him again. "Why'd ya call me 'ere?" His vents stuttered softly again, before he broke eye contact and glanced over my shoulder.

"I…" He sighed, shaking his head, before staring at that same, poor tree. Frowning, he flicked his wings in annoyance. "An honest answer..?" he breathed, before darting his optics to me. Frowning myself, I nodded. His wings drooped slightly, before tensing and moving inward – as they did when he was embarrassed. He shook his head. "I don't know. I… wanted to see you, I suppose," he ground out, his voice lowering at the end into a whisper.

I wasn't expecting that response, and I could feel my spark hammering in my chest, growing warmer as opposed to colder. He continued to stare at that tree, tenser than I've ever seen anyone. I couldn't speak for once, as my breath caught in my throat. I've never been in a situation like this, and all I could think about was how _he_ wanted to see _me_. I was ecstatic, however his wings trembled lightly and something in me wanted to stop it. The next thing I knew, my arms were around him once more, my face buried in his neck cables, breathing in that wonderful scent of his.

He froze, before relaxing immensely, awkwardly patting my side. My left arm was draped around his shoulder and under his wings, which were surprisingly soft. My right wrapped securely around his waist, drawing him into me. Some voice in my head was dimly shouting at me to stop, this was not what Decepticons do, you've been trained against it, but I was too far gone to care. His scent was sweet and dusty, like old tree bark, calming and soothing my whole being. I could feel his spark race under his armor once more, and he awkwardly raised his other arm to wrap around my shoulders. A jolt of warm electricity raced through me when he rested his head against mine, and I smiled softly into his warm cabling. _Mine, _I thought resolutely, clutching on to him a little bit tighter.

It seemed like an eternity that we stayed like that, however in reality it must've been a few minutes. I was saddened when Prowl gently detached himself, although thoroughly pleased at how relaxed he was. I smirked slightly at him, not bothering to move apart. I traced a design on his abdomen, before he gasped lightly and backed away a few steps. His wings were fluttering almost all over the place, although they kept inward and upward. I grinned at his now-open face, full of wonder and confusion.

"We should do this more often," I offered, smiling more at his embarrassed twitching. Once he calmed down a little, he sighed, and looked at me with a level gaze.

"My f-leader..." He coughed, and alarm sprung through me, before he composed himself more. "He's figuring out that I leave on my time off, and asked – my two friends," he stammered, realizing that I might not know their names. "He asked them to watch the doors. I don't think I'll be able to leave again," he admitted softly. I pursed my lips together in thought. Was his father like mine? Running my gaze around his shoulders again, I knew that he didn't train or punish him as my father did me.

"Wha' would he do if he found out?" I would be lying if I told someone I wasn't curious. My lord always told me that Optimus Prime had started the war, however he would never speak past that. Prowl shook his head.

"I do not know. I've never really done something I'm not supposed to." I gave him a look that I hoped screamed 'really?', and a small smile played around the corner of his lips, causing my breath to catch again. "Well, most certainly nothing of this scale," he amended dryly. I couldn't help but chuckle lightly at that. He sighed softly, allowing his wings to spread more outward, diverting my attention. They were mainly white with some black undertones, and highlighted with a few red lines. Prowl seemed to notice my attention on his wings, as he drew them closer to him and coughed softly. I turned my gaze to his face, and I studied him for a moment. His optics showed his discomfort, however had a red chevron gracefully twisting above them, whilst his face was angular. He showed no signs of fear, which led me to believe that the Autobots did not discipline their troops. _Then how did their Twins get'a be such great fighters..? _I pondered.

"Ah'm sure whatever he does when he does find out won't be all bad," I tested, shifting my weight onto my right leg. He tilted his head, before frowning. He still seemed curious to why I was looking at him so.

"And why do you say that? What punishment would you be expecting?" I let out a small huff, and crossed my arms.

"Oh, Y'know, beatin's, lashin's, clawin', th' norm," I expressed casually, shrugging. This caused Prowl to choke a little, his optics widening before landing on my shoulders. _Ah, so he did notice._ He shook his head in bewilderment.

"We never harm anyone if it is unnecessary." I blinked at his serious tone.

"And disciplinin' your troops ain't necessary?" I asked, my eyebrows shooting upward. Prowl narrowed his optics in slight confusion.

"There are more civil means to disciplining troops." It was my turn to gaze at him in confusion. The corner of my lips pulled downward in a frown, and I shook my head in disbelief. Decepticons were expected to endure pain, and disciplinary action was dealt accordingly.

"Yeah? Like how?" I shot at him, jerking my chin up slightly. His wings twitched slightly in annoyance, and he sighed.

"Normally, I would send them to the brig – our celled area – or give them shifts they do not like. For example, the Twins hate monitor duty, so when they need to be disciplined, they have more monitor shifts." _Ah feel how they feel,_ I thought in agreement.

"You? Ya're th' one that punishes 'em?" I blinked at him, curious now. Prowl seemed strong and sturdy but it was obvious that he was not built for combat. He simply sighed in agitation.

"Of sorts, yes. If it is worse, they are talked to _civilly _by Optimus," he stressed. I swallowed, suspicion floating in.

"Optimus? Ain't he th' boss? Why wouldn't he smack some sense inta people?" I growled lightly, having of course been conditioned to hate Autobots. It didn't work very well, however I did end up disliking the Prime greatly. Prowl seemed surprised, and his wings rose defensively.

"Optimus cares for his troops. In turn, we care for our leader, and we have a system of respect. He would sacrifice himself if one of us was in danger, and knowing this, we return the gesture by following his command." He blinked at me, frowning and again tense. "What does your leader do, other than hurt, maim, and kill?"

I snorted, and opened my mouth for a retort. But one never came, and I had to snap my mouth shut. This had me really thinking, as I couldn't recall a time where he wasn't doing one of those things. My tanks rolling slightly, I turned my face away, chewing my lip. He lead, gave orders. We followed them out of fear. Not that any 'bot would get a confession from us Decepticons. Prowl relaxed, and his face softened into something of pity. This caused my energon to heat up in anger, and I issued out a low growl.

"We love battle, energon, torture, lyin', drugs, inflictin' pain," I growled, and I stalked even closer to him, dragging a claw up his chest before tapping it under his chin. I could taste the bitter lies rolling off of my glossa, however part of this was true. "We love inflictin' fear," I purred, digging my claw into him just short of drawing energon. When normally I would get a thrill of excitement from the fear in his optics and the thought of his energon spilling, I instead felt my insides tighten and roil. I pulled my claw out, and away from his face, snorting. Prowl, to his credit, remained calm.

"And is this true for you, as well?" It was as effective as cold water being splashed on my face. I blinked blankly at him, before sighing. I never really thought about it, for I was always expected to be a ruthless dagger in the horde of the Decepticons. I never had any other choice – Megatron was my birth father, after all. I scowled lightly.

"Haven't though 'bout it." Prowl frowned, and boldly raised a hand to rest on my shoulder. My spark rate increased slightly, as did my core temperature.

"Perhaps you should," he suggested softly. I looked up at him, and I couldn't tear my optics from his, and our gazes remained locked for a few moments, before he stiffened slightly. He glanced somewhere else, breaking the contact, and his hand raised off of my shoulder to press lightly on the side of his helm. He frowned, and his wings drooped an inch lower.

"That was Optimus. I am to return immediately."


	11. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:**

**So, 40-50h of work, Grade 12 work, 2 moody parents and 2 birthdays later…. *faints* I swear I posted only four days ago… **

**Anyhow, there is my favourite song embedded in here, you'll hear lyrics pop into Jazz's head sometimes. I have it in here because Jazz all for music. Don't forget to review, I love your feedback ^_^**

**R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy**

**Enjoy~**

* * *

><p><strong>Prowl's P.O.V.<strong>

My tanks squirmed when I spotted the entrance to our base, seeing movement in the colors of gold and red. I did not realize that I had been outside for more than one and a half hours, and I was guessing that either Optimus or the twins had checked where I normally was, and not seeing me they must have assumed correctly that I was outside. Walking closer I could see that they were clean and smooth with no dents to be found, and knowing Sunstreaker, painted as well. Sideswipe looked uneasy, but nodded once I was close enough to be in earshot.

"Sorry Prowl, but Optimus' orders are Optimus' orders." I twitched my wings at him, but nodded. Sunstreaker was unusually relaxed, but I could see that he too was uncomfortable with this. I walked past them, my wings tucked in close. The hesitated, but after glance at one another, they followed me into the base. I sighed.

"I am inside the base. Where did Optimus wish to meet me?" I turned my face to Sideswipe, but was surprised when Sunstreaker spoke up instead.

"His office, as normal." I nodded my thanks in Sunstreaker's direction, and made the turn for his office. When the others hesitated at the intersection, I paused, and turned to see why. Sideswipe coughed lightly before Sunstreaker nudged for him to continue.

"…No hard feelings, right? We gotta stay here and record where you go." Frowning slightly, I nodded.

"I understand that you are simply following protocol, and for that I am grateful. I'm assuming that I will see the two of you sometime later?" Sideswipe relaxed with a sigh, and Sunstreaker nodded. Nodding back, I turned and walked up the hallways leading up to my father's office.

My wings were lower than normal, and I ran over possible possibilities and scenarios in my head. Would I tell him the truth? If I told my father about Jazz, what would happen? I sucked in air, my tanks roiling nervously. I reached his doorway, and my father immediately picked up on my signal.

"Come in, Prowl."

I vented, relaxing my tense cabling, and tucked in my doorwings. Palming the switch to open the door, I entered with my wings steady, my face up. Optimus was up straight in his chair, with no work to be found on the desk. This would be a confrontation with no distractions, and knowing my father, he did not look impressed. He gestured to the chair. Sitting down, I held my wings uncomfortably above the back of the chair. He sat back in his, staring me down with a hard expression. Such an act was commonly used as an interrogation technique, as I would know quite well. I calmly met his gaze, and cleared anything on my mind as to focus solely on him. We stayed that way for a few minutes, before he sighed and slid back his face mask. His lips were set in a grim line, and he leaned forward.

"Why do you go outside?" I let out a sigh of my own, before responding in kind.

"I have no work to do, so I like to patrol."

"Why?"

"To keep my mind active." The lie slid surprisingly smoothly from my lips, and I felt a twist of guilt. I squished it, knowing that meeting Jazz always left me pondering about him, and therefore made this comment true.

"And you know of the Decepticon lurking about?"

"I do."

"And you yourself told me that he had shown an interest in you." My spark fluttered lightly in my chest.

"I did."

"Have you seen him since the incident?"

"No." My throat seemed to go dry at that, so I swallowed. This caught my father's attention, so I iced the lie. "But that does not mean that he could be watching me." Which, I realized, was true. In most cases, he saw me and then revealed himself. How many times did he watch me, without any interaction? A small shudder ran down my spine, my wings barely shaking. I kept my gaze focused on my father, determined to stay calm. He seemed to soften slightly.

"Then why do you patrol, if you know he is around?" _Because I want_ _to see him, _came my thoughts in a whisper. Shoving that thought to the back of my mind, I sighed.

"I intend to keep the others safe. He has… an interest in me, so I am hoping that he will focus on me and not the others." Which was true, however I unfortunately became more concerned with seeing him as of late. Optimus softened some more, before gesturing for me to continue. "…He could track us, without any of our noticing," I started softly. My battle computer spun, supplying me with an exceptional possibility. "What if, instead of using his abilities to spy on me, he focused them instead on the location of our base?" I never thought about that option, however now that I did a small spike of alarm spread through me. He never showed his interest in finding facts, and seemed offended when I attempted to extract information about him. The others were safe, for now. Optimus sighed, and leaned back.

"I did not think of that," he admitted softly. Rubbing his nasal ridge, he took in another sigh. "What is the percentage of that possibility?" I tilted my head at his request, and my battle computer spurred into action.

"89.73 percent," I breathed. I heard my own father's vents hitch, and he immediately shot up, nodding in thought and bracing his hands on the side of his desk.

"Then you are to patrol daily, alone and wandering slightly out of bounds. The usual patrols will run at their normal times, however the Twins will patrol closest to the base at the same time as you. If you need any assistance, they will help you." I took in a breath, nodding. This would mean that I would be able to see Jazz more.

"The twins have fought him before," I supplied. He nodded, and judging by the expression on his face, he was no longer upset with me.

"Precisely. You may mark it on the schedule, as long as it is under these terms." I stood up as well, dipping my wings in acknowledgement.

"Very well." He nodded, content, however he seemed uncertain about something. I realized that this was supposed to be a talk between father and son, and not a meeting to talk about war details. I twitched my wings in irritation, and glanced at the wall. After a few moments Optimus tapped a digit on the desk, and I changed my gaze from the wall to the garbage can. It was empty, with a few stains and a handful of dusty specks. It was a silver tin cylinder with a cross-hatch pattern. At my father's awkward cough, I finished my observation of the garbage can and I had counted 137 rows of the crosshatch.

"So… How are you?" came his attempt at conversation. I glanced at him and nodded.

"I am fine. Yourself?"

"I am fine as well, thank you." And that was that. We stared numbly at one another before glancing away, and after a few more moments of silence I sighed.

"Permission to leave?"

"Granted," he sighed, coming to the same conclusion as I – this conversation would go nowhere. I bowed slightly at him, before turning on my heel and exiting through his door. Right before the door closed, however, I heard my father groan tiredly.

**- / -**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I sighed in annoyance as I watched Prowl leave, before turning back to base. I desperately wanted to just follow him, but as a Decepticon it was not only looked down on, but it was prohibited to do anything with an Autobot besides killing or torturing them. Growling lightly, I knew I had to change my mood to something positive, and fast, seeing as I had just captured my first Autobot. I trotted through undergrowth in a foul mood for a few spark-beats, before I scratched my neck in thought. Pausing, a grin stretched across my face. Prowl's music chip. I could listen to the music to improve my mood, as it instantly boosted my emotions the other day. Grinning from horn to horn, I opened the file and shuffled to a random song. It was listed as _I'm so Sorry _by some human called _Imagine Dragons_. I pondered that it was an odd name, but my thoughts were swept away by the beat. 

_About time for anyone telling you off for all your deeds_

_No sign the roaring thunder stopped in cold to read_

_No time_

_I get mine and make no excuses, waste of precious breath_

_No time_

_The sun shines on everyone, everyone_

_Love yourself to death_

_So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go_

_You'll never be loved till you've made your own_

_You gotta face up, you gotta get yours_

_You never know the top till you get too low_

_You son of a stepfather_

_You son of a – I'm so sorry_

_You son of a stepfather_

_You son of a – I'm so sorry_

_No lies and no deceiving, man is what he loves_

_I keep tryin' to conceive that death is from above_

_No time_

_I get mine and make no excuses waste of precious breath_

_No time_

_The sun shines on everyone, everyone_

_Love yourself to death_

_So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go_

_You'll never be loved till you've made your own_

_You gotta face up, you gotta get yours_

_You never know the top till you get too low_

_You son of a stepfather_

_You son of a – I'm so sorry_

_You son of a stepfather_

_You son of a – I'm so sorry_

_Life isn't always what you think it'd be_

_Turn your head for one second and the tables turn_

_And I know, I know that I did you wrong_

_But will you trust me when I say that I'll make it up to you _

_Somehow, _

_Somehow_

_So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go_

_You'll never be loved till you've made your own_

_You gotta face up, you gotta get yours_

_You never know the top till you get too low_

_You son of a stepfather_

_You son of a – I'm so sorry_

_You son of a stepfather_

_You son of a – I'm so sorry_

_(Huh –oh)_

_I'm so sorry_

_(Huh – oh)_

_I'm so sorry_

_(Huh – oh)_

_I'm so sorry_

_(Huh)_

_(You son of a)_

The whole time I was unaware of my sharp twists and turns, my hips moving unconsciously. Every now and then when the words were emphasized by sound, I would throw a punch in the air, or claw off a leaf here and there. I was grinning more than I ever did before, and I opened my visor wider to draw in my surroundings. Seeing that I was near the base, I paused my music once it was done and skipped and hopped across logs and stones, humming the tune now stuck in my head. _You son of a – I'm so sorry, _It echoed. _What a way ta apologize, _I chuckled to myself. I waltzed into base a few moments later, fighting the grin off of my face. Decepticon grunts and soldiers avoided me, scowling at my good mood. The dim lighting and the aggressive nature of my fellows dampened my high, however I was still quite amused with myself. By now it was nightfall, and the change of guard was apparent.

I was going to head to my berth, if it weren't for an incoming transmission. I opened it without thought.

"Jazz 'ere."

"Jazz; report to dungeons," came the monotone voice. My mood faltered, and I breathed in a deep breath. My feelings toward him were still peculiar, seeing the normally gentle Soundwave torture someone. But then again, he was only ever gentle to me and his cassettes.

"May Ah ask why?" He was quick to respond.

"Jazz; to guard the prisoner for the night." Then, after a moment's hesitation, he added; "Information; obtained. Prisoner; to be disposed of; at dawn." I blinked for a few moments, before latching onto his meaning. The Autobot – _Mirage, _I corrected myself – would be executed tomorrow morning. I sighed.

"A'ight. Ah'm on mah way." Soundwave ended the conversation with the click of the transmission ending, and I could picture him in my head nodding before doing so. Shaking my head at the thought, I turned and sped through the halls, twisting through the sharp narrow twists and sliding by the others in the shadows. _No sign, the roaring thunder stopped in cold to read._ A chill ran down my spinal strut as I entered through the guarded doors of the dungeon, remembering Mirage's screams.

Trotting through the dark depths, I hummed to myself a bit of the tune so that any guards stationed there would recognize my voice. At least, that's would I would tell anyone. _So you gotta fire up, you gotta let go__, _echoed in my thoughts, and I hummed the tune, passing by a somewhat bristled pair of guards. Relaxing minutely once I was passed them, I reached the guards outside of Mirage's cell. Soundwave was waiting for me, and he only gave me a nod before brushing past me to leave. Apprehension prickled the back of my neck when the other two guards tensed and rushed after him. _Looks like Ah'm the only one in this sector then,_ I thought grimly.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts, and took position next to the gate leading into Mirage's cell. After a moment's hesitation, I dared to peer into his cell to check up on him. Interestingly enough, there wasn't much energon splatter. _If it were Starscream, the whole cell would be a giant puddle of the stuff_, I thought with a shudder. _Nasty, but whiney, _I thought darkly. My gaze travelled up Mirage's frame to where his arms had broken. By the looks of the wound, it appeared self-inflicted, and I remembered his screaming. _"Get outta my head", _he had screeched. I frowned at this, and unease wriggled inside me. _Turn your head for one second and the tables turn_. Whenever Soundwave used his telepathy on me, it had never hurt. In fact, I constantly talked to him growing up through that very method. _He always used it to scold me on things_, I recalled. _"Jazz; Never show your back. Action; vulnerable", "Jazz; stop eating with mouth full. Action; disgusting", "Jazz; report on time. Megatron; not approving," _and _"Jazz; stop playing with Ravage's tail; once more and Jazz; punished." _ I chuckled lightly to myself, shaking my head. The action seemed to stir the prisoner, and my focus snapped back onto Mirage. _You son of a – I'm so sorry._

He was groaning brokenly, and it took a bit for his optics to flicker online. Figuring he was low on energon, I remembered that I always kept at least one cube in my subspace. Keeping this in mind, I tilted my head so that my horns could pick up any sounds coming from behind me, and I watched him as he swept his gaze over his cell, absorbing any information he could. After finding no one in his cell, his gaze snapped to mine, and I blinked at the intensity of his gaze. It shined with hate and mistrust, and a part of me wondered if all Autobots would look at me like that. My spark clenched hard at the thought of Prowl looking at me with that expression, and swallowing thickly I turned my gaze away to the empty cell across from his.

"Jus' y-ou?" He croaked, his voice cracking. Frowning, I turned my body slightly to better look into his cell. His gaze still shone with emotion, and I ran my optics over his body for any more injuries. Finding no more, I looked back up at him to find him studying me. His optics met my visor once more, and they narrowed. "Y-You're the one who cap-aptured me, a-aren't you?" He rasped, his voice cracking some more. Not knowing that I wasn't supposed to talk to him, I nodded sharply. This seemed to surprise him, and he snorted. _No lies and no deceiving, man is what he loves_. After a few silent moments of him glaring at me, I awkwardly shuffled back to my original position, away from him but with him in the corner of my vision. An hour went by with my recurrent shuffling, as I wasn't one to sit still. The silence was broken with weak coughing, and I turned my head to see him, surprised that he was still awake. Mirage raised his head to give me another weak glare, and I huffed to myself. If he was going to be stubborn about being awake, the others wouldn't have to worry about killing him with the rate his fuel levels were dropping.

I took out a cube of energon with a flourish, and stabbed a hole into the top. I gave it a swirl for good measure, and took a nice, long drag from it. My energy levels were low as well, and I drank until it reached a good two-thirds. Pulling the cube away from my lips, I leaned casually against the wall, looking at and swirling the remainder half-cube. I stayed that way for a minute before I heard a tank behind me grumble profusely, and I smiled a little. Wiping it off before I turned around, I faced him to see his optics snap from the energon in my hand to my visor. _Pretending he didn't see, hmm? Stubborn mech, _I thought to myself. My mind persistently brought up an image of Prowl, and I knew that he most likely would've been just as stubborn, if not more. This caused a twang in my spark, and I shoved him out of my mind for the moment. Instead, I lifted the cube a little and tilted my head.

"Care for some?" This caused Mirage to stare at me in confusion, and I jiggled the cube a little in my hand. It successfully snatched his attention, and his tanks grumbled lowly.

"And why w-ould _you _give me some of y-our 'gon?" he sneered, however it was proven ineffective as his tanks grumbled again. I smiled cruelly, and opened the gate to let myself in.

"'Cause if ya die on meh now, the others ain't gonna have their fun in the mornin',"I informed him with false cheer. His optics immediately narrowed, and I dropped the smile. "'ere," I grunted, and I shoved the cube into his face. With a glare in my direction, he cautiously tilted his head forward, and I tilted the cube in turn. He drank slowly, albeit at an uncomfortable position, and in a couple minutes when he was done I took the empty cube back. Crushing the cube, I couldn't help my gaze from wandering to his restraints. They were painful, but easy to break out of. An idea popped into my head, and my training rose aggressively against it. Despite this, I couldn't help but think of Prowl. He had said that I attacked his friends. Not to mention – what if this was Prowl, instead of Mirage? At a sharp pain in my spark, I clamped my hand over my other wrist and did the maneuver needed to break out of the bonds holding Mirage.

Once my hand was free, I retreated back to my spot in silence, avoiding any eye contact with him._You son of a – I'm so sorry. _ I stayed rigid and silent, and didn't speak a word when, at midnight, a lowly Decepticon came to replace me. I slipped back to my room without a word.

_And I know, I know that I did you wrong._

_You son of a – I'm so sorry._

**- / -**

**Prowl's P.O.V.**

I sighed, entering my passcode for my quarters. It was relatively late, however early for me considering how I locked myself in my office most times. The doors slid open, and I stepped into the threshold, shivering lightly. While my barren quarters had a private washrack attached to it, they were further back from the core of the base, thus colder as our heating wasn't that great. I paused before my berth, and after a moment's hesitation turned for the washracks.

Turning on the lukewarm water, I sighed in content as the warmish water drizzled onto my wings, soothing the tense joints. Knowing the warm water wouldn't last, I started to immediately rub some generic soap onto a rag, lathering my armor until suds formed. Try as I could, however, I couldn't reach some parts of my back and wings. Those were spots I could never reach, and I groaned in slight frustration. I shook lightly, putting away the soap and allowing myself to rinse. Closing my eyes and soaking up the remainder of the warm water, I allowed my mind to wander. My battle computer and logic centers popped up first, and I wondered about Mirage. There was a 43.96% chance of him making it out, which wasn't high, however according to the twins he did have his invisible cloaking on him. Then my mind drifted to the neutrals, and with Mirage having the information that he had, there was a 56.82% chance of the Decepticons extracting that information, and I hoped that for their sakes, he kept it.

It was only a matter of moments, however, before a certain visored mech intruded my thoughts, and I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. Opening my optics, I turned and switched off the water before grabbing the same blue towel I always used to dry myself. _What was that hug about, _I thought, my mind drifting back to Jazz. Normally I was always awkward at any social contact, but his hug had caused me to melt. Figuratively speaking, of course. I grumbled lightly at having to grab both ends of the towel and move it around to dry my back. Jazz seemed to trust me, which was very unusual for a Decepticon. _Perhaps I could trust him at one point?_ My Autobot coding fiercely disagreed along with my logic centers, however for once my battle computer did not protest. Neither did my spark, judging by how it sped up slightly at the mere thought of him. Something told me however, that I did have some trust for Jazz.

I hung my towel back up on its usual resting shelf, and stepped into the cooler main room. Shivering lightly once more, I moved to my berth and laid down, carefully propping my wings to one side. Although my original intentions were to see Jazz for information, it was now obvious to me that I simply wanted to see him. His closeness took my breath away, and despite my stubbornness I craved the touch of his smooth, warm armor. I shivered once more, the lack of his warm body disturbing me. _How can I feel such a way, _I ruminated, confused yet awed. Despite this, however, he was still an unpredictable Decepticon, and his bouts of aggression both excited me and drove me to fear him. _The excitement was most likely from my reaction to his proximity_, I reasoned. I sighed nonetheless, and shook my head. Desperately trying to keep him from my mind, I attempted recharge. I breathed in and out calmly and calculatedly, sending my body to the edge of recharge.

After a few moments of analyzing his actions to see if he was truly interested, I slipped into the darkness with his red visor haunting my dreams. 

**-/-**

**Jazz's P.O.V.**

I was awoken to someone rudely shaking me awake. Growling grumpily, I onlined my visor to see Lazerbeak persistently rock my body. Seeing me awake, Lazerbeak pecked me sharply behind one of my audio horns.

"A'ight, a'ight! Ah'm up, Ah'm up," I barked, waving my arms around to shoo him away. Sighing dramatically, I sat up and checked my chronometer. It was early in the morning, so something must have happened. After another sharp peck at the back of my head, I stood up and stormed out my door, rubbing the sting with a grumble. I was met outside with Soundwave, and Lazerbeak flew hurriedly into his chest.

"Jazz; hurry," he said, and next thing I knew he was walking away quite fast. Blinking, I lurched into a jog behind him. Catching up with him, I walked briskly beside him.

"Wha's the hurry?" We turned sharply around a corner, and I growled groggily at being awoken so early and moved in a rush. Soundwave risked a quick glance over his shoulder at me.

"Megatron; called meeting." I blinked, and thought of why he would call a meeting so early. I wasn't the only one who didn't like to wake up early. Swinging around another corner, we nearly smacked right into Starscream who looked dazed and pissed at the same time. He looked at Soundwave with a sharp yet dumbfounded look.

"What the frag!?" He screeched. Soundwave, cool as always, maneuvered around him in a hurry. I started and trotted behind him, and Starscream fell into step beside me. At a sharp glance at him, I risked a glance at him and gave him a '_who knows' _shrug. He scowled, and I trotted faster to keep up nearer Soundwave.

Moments later, we slowed to a normal pace and turned a corner to see Shockwave turning around the corner further ahead in the hallway. Shockwave and Soundwave were calm, and nodded emotionlessly to one another as we walked towards him. Starscream kept his scowl and refused to acknowledge him, however I simply shot Shockwave a confused look when he turned to me. We met halfway through the hall, right outside of Megatron's throne room doors. Soundwave nodded at Shockwave, and Shockwave turned and opened the door before entering. Soundwave followed, and I shot forward to squeeze through before Starscream shoved me aside. Huffing behind me, he closed the door behind him and we walked toward our leader at the far end in his throne. Shockwave and Soundwave were on the left of me, and we filed in line with them. As one, we bowed before an impatient looking Megatron.

"Let us begin," he growled, and rose from his throne. We waited for him to come down before us, and I kept my gaze locked onto the Decepticon insignia on his chest. Starscream fidgeted impatiently beside me, I and shifted imperceptibly. He halted before us, and I could feel his fiery gaze pierce my armor.

"Soundwave. Report!" At the barking of our Lord, Soundwave dipped his head respectively and cut to the chase.

"Prisoner; escaped." My tanks squirmed in dread. "Approximate time; an hour before dawn." The squirming stopped, and I had to stop myself from relaxing in relief. A growl came from our leader.

"What of the mech guarding him?" Soundwave shook his head slightly.

"Guard; offline." The growling rose, and I could tell that this upset Megatron. A few moments of silence passed, however one could cut the tension in the room with a knife. Starscream shifted uncomfortably, however I stayed rigid. My gaze lifted to the jaw of my leader, and I flattened my armor slightly, expecting him to hit someone.

"Did you get anything from the prisoner," he growled lowly. Soundwave nodded, and handed him a datapad. It cracked slightly under pressure in Megatron's hands.

"Coordinates; to a neutral sector." Megatron blinked, surprised for a moment, however a cruel smirk grew on his face, and he tossed his head back in a dark, throaty laugh. _Neutrals? Is there such a thing? _Megaton calmed, his trademark smirk in place.

"Brilliant! We shall find them at once," he purred, his voice dripping with venom. I thought we would be done, but to my surprise, Shockwave stepped forward.

"Lord Megatron," he began. He waited for Megatron's signal, and after a few moments, he gave it. "There has been progress in the lab." Megatron blinked, and I could hear Starscream hiss softly.

"State your news, Shockwave, and swiftly!" he spat, eager to move. Shockwave nodded.

"My Lord. I have cracked the formula. We now have vast amounts of energy, if not unlimited." Megatron's smirk grew larger, if possible.

"There is no better way to celebrate, than to use this to our advantage against the Neutrals. And if they do not cooperate-" He barked a quick laugh "-Then we shall unleash the full might of the Decepticons!"


End file.
